Build Fighters: NEXT - Kai
by Zeroraid
Summary: Every six months Alex came to Japan to spend time with his estranged father, and for these six months he'd be living with his father's new family, and naturally continuing his schooling. Maybe this time, he and his old man can actually bother spending some together. If not... well, it's Japan; the home of Gunpla and Godzilla. Doubt it'll be a total loss. Revision
1. Prologue

**_Battlefield: Plains_**

_The championship fight's already started. The pilots didn't waste any time getting down to business. They collided, yellow and blue beam sabers releasing a hail of sparks that signaled every moment they clashed with one another._

_"Not bad, tell me; did you make that unit just to fight me here!?"_

_"Don't get your hopes up." They smiled as they collided once more, pushing against each other._

_On one side was a three eyed purple Sinanju with a yellow Full Psycho-Frame._

_The on the other side stood a silver High-v, rebuilt using a Unicorn Frame._

_The pilot of the Rozen Sinanju charged, beam sword/axes on it's the large shield colliding with the beam blade of its Hi-v Visionary. Launched from it's back the Visionary released it's funnels and let them dance in the air for a moment before they started to fire. The Rozen's pilot wasn't remotely bothered, granted he flew back, and moved. Left, right, it lived up to the legendary Sinanju it waws built upon. He fired and the first funnel dropped. Exploding in the air as the others snaked around, moving like darts in the air as they returned fire. "Lucky shot!"_

_"Lucks got nothing to do with it." Head mounted vulcans fired and the Funnels flew in six directions as the Visionary charged in. Supported by its funnels it thrust its forearm mounted beam saber forward. The large shield blocked, beam coating dispersing sparks in dozens of directions before it was knocked away. The funnels returned, raining from the sky as they attacked the Rozen. Again though, it moved, sliding across the field before sliding to a stop. With a free arm it pulled the Beam rifle from it's waist before taking aim. He waited, just for a moment before firing, and a second dropped from the sky. "Just gotta aim where their going, not where they are."_

_The pilot made to fire a third shot stopping only when his rifle was destroyed by a beam saber._

_The Visionary's pilot threw a punch as his mobile suit was sent off balance for a moment. "If that's the case, let's make it so you can't shoot them down." The beam saber returned as the Rozen stepped to the side, it's shield ramming into the Gundam's chest before it activated it's thrusters and pushed the unit back._

_The funnels returned firing at it's back as it shoved the Gundam away and took to the air and turned. Vulcans were fired and the Funnels retaliated as it flew after them._

_"You're fights with me!" The Visionary charged after it, and took aim with it's beam rifle before firing._

_"You make it sound like I forgot." The Rozen twisted its shield, letting the beam collide before being redirecting itself elsewhere, right in the path of a flying Funnel as it took a separate shot to the back. "Tch… worth it."_

_"Bastard." The Gundam pried his shield away from him before swing his beam saber. The Rozen grabbed his arm to kept the blade overhead. Its shield gone it cocked it's left arm back and activated the beam saber in his forearm before thrusting it forward. The Visionary grabbed the arm and held it still as the remaining few funnels started to fire. The Rozen dodged; all its thrusters activating as it forced the two out the path and towards the dirt. Landing both Visionary and Rozen held their lock, head-mounted vulcans firing as they attacked. "Not yet!" The Visionary threw kick and the Rozen stumbled before breaking the lock, and grabbed the leg and spun as the Visionary twisted it's blade downward. The Sinanju threw the Visionary away before pulling the beam saber from it's forearm._

_"Well gotta be careful with the arm now." A shot from behind tore the arm straight off. "And there it goes." The Gundam got to his feet as the Funnels continued firing upon the Rozen. "Well, I'm already fighting with a handicap so… another won't change anything!" The Rozen charged before suddenly turning, twisting out of sight as the Visionary swung at it. It was given a kick from behind as it stumbled before taking a shot from one of its own funnels._

_"Handicap huh?"The Visionary turned swinging it's beam saber as the Rozen grabbed the arm with its remaining one, brought it down while raising it's knee._

_"An arm for an arm!" An arm a piece the two mobile suits started backing up before taking a pause, the funnels returning to the Rack on the Visionary in order to recharge._

_"I don't see you giving me a handicap in this fight."_

_"I can't use my funnels." Rozen's pilot stated as it tossed the broken arm aside. "Can't use them without running the risk of your NT-D System hijacking them."_

_"I guess you got a point." The Visionary stated as it ignited its forearm mounted beam saber as the Rozen did the same. "So, let's settle this the old fashioned way."_

_"Gladly." The two pilots ignited their thrusters, gathering speed before charging._

Ending the video there the young man just fell silent as he took a breath. Rooms quiet without the video playing. All the teen's able to hear now is the white noise playing in the background. "Ready?" He asks as the door to the room starts to open.

"They're ready." The teen just makes a noise as he gets to his feet, stretches and picks up the case that's sitting at his side.

School's quiet; course it is, everyone's gone home, all save the school's Gunpla Battle Club, which is still open at this hour. Likely using the Gunpla Battle Arenas to get some last minute practice in. It's the club that these two are heading towards, both eerily quiet as they make their way towards the front door.

"About… about Rozen Sinanju…"

"It's alright." The teen looks to his female counterpart before smiling.

"No it's not."

* * *

**This is both a rewrite and a continuation of Build Fighters Next. Almost everything in this story will be the same as it was supposed to, plus a few edits. I'm mainly doing this to add a few pieces to Alex's character, mostly these first two chapters will detail before he goes to Japan and what he left behind.**


	2. Chapter 1: Goodbye and Goodnight

_New York City_

He hated the rain. Always did. Now though, today, he didn't seem to mind all that much, it synced up with the feelings he had at the moment.

"So… when are you leaving?" Alex asked, turning to his counterpart as she adjusted her umbrella.

"Tomorrow." The girl muttered as Alex scratched his head. "And you?"

"Tomorrow." Alex said with a low chuckle. "Maybe I'll see you at the airport?"

"Maybe." His counterpart admitted as she looked elsewhere. "Still it's not fair." She muttered. "Us leaving you like this."

"What do you mean?"

"You're our captain." She muttered as if that would explain everything. "You led Team Stygian— you led us to three Summer championships." She admitted as she clenched her fist. "And now we're just leaving you behind? Just because—" She didn't want to finish that sentence, he didn't either. "Never mind."

"It's alright." He told her for the second time as he stepped under her umbrella. "We all made our choices. And just because I'm gone doesn't mean this is the end for me." He told her. "I'll return." He told her. "In six months I'll be back again."

"I'll be gone by then." His smile becomes tighter.

"Yeah… I guess you will." The teen mutters as he steps out into the rain and lets it wash over him. "I'll know where to find you though." He states as he started walking away. "Take care Amalea."

"Alex…" She muttered his name before turning, reaching into her pocket. She whistled to get his attention as she threw something at him, and with relatively remarkable reflexes the teen caught it. A phone, one of the latest to come out too. "That's… that's for you." She told him. "I'll contact you." She told him. "Just… promise you'll pick up." His smile becomes a bit more honest with that. "Please?"

"Course, Major, so long."

"Goodbye, Captain."

It's gonna be a long walk home. Should take him about an hour less he grabs the train.

Thing is he doesn't head home, well not straight away. He takes the round-about route, stopping at a place he visited hundreds of times before. There used to be this old Toy Store in Manhattan, but it shut down more than a few decades ago. In its place rose Manhattan's own personal Gundam Base. He loved coming here, because this was where it all started for him, it was where it started for all of them.

Stepping into the world of Gunpla, being a Builder - being a Fighter, this store was where it all started. Being here could bring a smile to his face, at least it normally did.

Mobile Suit Gundam; it's been well over thirty years since the franchise's introduction, and since then it's developed quite a following. With countless timeline divergents, it has something for both old veterans and the young pups alike. That following grew even stronger after the discovery of the Plavsky Particle.

With it, Gundam fans of all generations could use special arenas to move their Gunpla models, and enter into mock fights known as GP Duels, or rather Gunpla Battles.

Gunpla Battles; may very well consider it — correction it was a near future sport with all the tournaments and the fan base it's created. Shop tournaments offer metals, national tournaments offer trophies and sometimes even money. National champions pretty much became rock stars, were invited to high state parties and were able to get their hands on countless custom parts.

But even those rockstars came here, to the place where it all started for them.

Walking into the building, Alex just shook his head like a dog and pulled his jacket off, tying it around his waist as he looked around. Taking a breath the teen just walked forward taking the elevator to the bottom floor as he checked his wallet. Had more than enough money. That had - admittingly - been a bit of a struggle to accomplish. He and his team— former team went through a lot of their allowances getting the spare parts they needed for when their Gunpla were either damaged or they needed new parts for upgrades. "That's the life of a fighter." The teen thought as he released a light smile before putting his wallet away. Looking to the side he noticed a few Gunpla Arenas already activated, the light showing battlers giving their all, even if it was just for mock battles.

It was because they were mock battles — because there wasn't really anything on the line that they could go all out like this and still smile as they were. It was why there were never any real hard feelings when the battle was over.

He closed his eyes for a moment as he started thinking back. Only snapping out of his thoughts when he stumbled as the elevator reached the bottom floor. When he got himself together though he just looked around as he walked into the shopping floor and scratched his head. "Now… to start over from the beginning." The teen muttered, walking through the isles.

There was no doubt about it, The Gundam Base was a Gundam enthusiast's paradise; hundreds of Gunpla models lined the isles, from series such as the original universe of Universal Century to the Post Disaster and even the relatively futuristic Build Divers universe. "Part of me is honestly hoping that happens one day for real." Alex thought aloud as he continued walking down the isles. "A virtual world on the net we can just dive into and do Gunpla battles worldwide." He chuckled slightly. "Go RPG on the Gundam universe." He smiled softly as he walked ahead, stopping when he entered an isle that caught his attention. After Colony. This isle had every unit that appeared in the A.C. timeline, from Dual Story: G-Unit, Tiel's Impulse, to Endless Waltz. Personally Alex was still hoping— waiting for Japan to release the Frozen Teardrop models into the US. Stepping into the hall the teen took a breath, and looked around for his latest model to build. Stopping only when he caught sight of a particular mobile suit. "You know." He began as he picked the box up. "I always wanted to pilot you." He admitted. "Most guys would go for Wing Zero, but for me, you were the one that really called out to me." He reminisced as he took the boxed unit over to the cashier and let it get scanned.

He let it get scanned, and after paying for it, he let the mobile suit rest in his backpack and headed out. As he did, he started to think back, despite how much he didn't want to.

* * *

_Hours Ago_

_Their clubroom's quiet. He hated that fact. Still Alex just took a breath as he stared at five others that were waiting for him. Leon, Oscar, Wallice, Raphael, and Roa. None of them said a word as Alex just looked at everyone, his attention drifting to each of them and the pictures hanging on the walls._

_"So~" Alex began. "This is it." He swung his arms and let them hit his sides. "This is it." He muttered. "This is the last night that we'll all be here." Amalea bit her lips as she leaned against the wall._

_"Seems like it." Wallice muttered._

_"You sure we can't change your mind?" Oscar asked as Alex kept a straight face._

_"Any chance I can change yours?" He countered. "I mean you don't have to do this."_

_"Alex, we got an offer to go to the pro leagues." Roa muttered as she sat on one of the tables. "We have someone willing to sponsor us for national tournaments." The girl explained. "We can't just pass that up."_

_"That's not a free ride though." Alex took a calming breath. They all knew that. They wanted to go national, do Gunpla tournaments across the world; to do that though they needed to sacrifice something. Dropping out of school and dedicating one's entire life to Gunpla sounded amazing but…_

_"You think we don't know that?" Leon grumbled as he crossed his arms. "We got a better shot than anyone else here — and you have a better shot than any of us." Leon admitted grudgingly. "And you're willing to just pass that up, for what?"_

_"Family." Alex admitted as the others looked at themselves. "I love Gunpla guys, you know this, but I'm not willing to leave my family for it."_

_"That's a bullshit excuse, and you know it."_

_"Leon!" Roa narrowed her eyes as she looked at the teen._

_"Alex bounces between two houses every six month, and he barely spends time with either of his folks." Leon stated as he got up from his seat and walked over to Alex. "You can't claim your staying just for family." Alex narrowed his eyes at Leon. "If you don't want to come that's fine, but you'd better make up a better excuse than that."_

_"Back up, Leon." Oscar muttered as he got to his feet and separated the two before blows started coming. "Listen, we all want Alex to come with us. We started out together, and I was hoping we'd end it together." Oscar looked at Alex. "Just not like this." He paused. "Alex are you sure we can't convince you to go pro with us?" Alex just turned from Leon to Oscar as he took a breath._

_"I'm sorry, I can't."_

_"Well captain. You know what to do." He did. Seeing a paper Oscar held out Alex signed it, officially cutting himself off from his team, Stygian and reached into his bag._

_Rozen Sinanju_

_It was his greatest work; over one hundred battles and with every one he rebuilt it, made it better. Every one of them came together to create its current form and it had become a symbol of strength and unity among the team. Cause of that. He couldn't keep it, not anymore. This mobile suit belonged with Team Stygian, even if he wasn't a part of the team anymore._

_"Make sure only the worthy get to pilot that MS will you?"_

_"We'll take care of it." Oscar stated as Leon eyes the MS with a mournful look. Without a word he walked off, disappearing from the room as Alex watched him leave. "So long, Captain."_

* * *

_Present_

He frowned at the memory, it's recent and he's honestly not certain if that's what causes it to hurt more. "You know." He told the rain. "I really did want to go with them." He admitted to himself. "But pro? I guess I'm not ready for that." He wasn't ready to throw everything away just to go across the world and battle. "I must be a coward huh?" He mused, releasing a faint smile before wandering off.

He could have grabbed the train; instead he chose to walk home.

That's quite a bit of a walk to be honest, and the doesn't help in the slightest. Still his bag wass waterproof, so there's that.

"Alex is that you?" Hearing someone call from the kitchen Alex just pulled off his jacket and hung it up.

"No one else has the keys, mom." Alex replied as he stretched and headed upstairs.

"You didn't grab anything to eat while you were out did you? I left dinner in the microwave."

"I'll grab it after I shower." Alex called out and continued ascending up the stairs.

A showers much needed: feels like he's gonna catch a cold at this rate.

Dinner is much needed as well, and when he's done he just locks himself in his room for a while and stares at his latest and still boxed Gunpla. "Well, welcome home, well one of your homes." Alex stated as he stared at the box before getting a few materials. Some old newspaper, some spray cans, a pair of nippers and liner.

OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon, Endless Waltz ver.

It was the seventh and last Gundam to appear in the tv show incarnation of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Created by Treize Khushrenada; first seen piloted by Heero Yui, last seen piloted by Zechs Merquise. A pure Close-Quarters Combat model, armed with only a beam sword and a heat rod.

"Still, it's too bad you don't come with the Sturm Und Drang." Alex muttered as he removed the parts from the box and spread them out. It was almost eleven, he should crash soon. Instead.

"Let's get you together. Then we'll see if we can get to sleep."

He starts by spraying the parts, layering them with white and then with dark gray and amber yellow. Soon as that was done he just had to wait a bit for them to dry, and once that was done he started removing them from their casing.

To be honest, it would take him about thirty minutes to get the Epyon together, it wouldn't be his fastest time but it wouldn't be his slowest either. Still he spends most of the remaining night getting this mobile suit together, taking parts from the few other Gunpla models he has at home to see how they fit together and removing them when he didn't like either the look or the feel.

"How to customize you?" Making a noise, Alex looked at the scattered pieces he'd have to put back together later as he tried getting a final idea in his head. "How to customize you?" He repeated the words before glancing around his room, looking for something to give him a spark of inspiration.

He even checked his computer, searching for images on other people's custom take of the Epyon unit.

"Hm… something simple to start off." He told himself as he continued browsing. Stopping only when an idea eventually came and he got back to work.

It took a bit more work than he would like to admit, in the end with some cut up plaplate and plastic cement Alex managed to attach the shield and heatrod onto the back of the mobile suit with the beam sword acting as the tip of the tail.

A bit more Plastic cement and he was able to attach the subarms of his old Gundam Barbatos unit onto the wing joints and tested them to make sure they were still flexible enough to move and carry weapons.

They were.

Soon as that was done he used the cement and parts to extend the inner wings before nestling a pair of Hyper Jammers in the two outside of these extensions, while two pairs of thrusters were added inside.

Attaching a pair vernier thrusters were attached to the legs wasn't overly difficult.

And lastly, he attached a Battle Lance and ZAFT XM04 Anti-Ship Sword - Grand Slam onto the new subarms.

When he was done, Alex just looked at his work with a loose smile.

"Not my best work, but it'll be good to start off." He moved the limbs, testing their mobility. Could be better, but nothing a bit of tuning couldn't fix. "Thank goodness I'm not that picky on colors." He told the mobile suit as he tested how well the rigging responded. "I colored all of you guys the same." He admitted with a small smile before testing a leg. "Still, it's too bad the "Dragon" won't work with these mods." He admitted before yawning. "That said you need a name." He told the Mobile Suit as he pulled out his GP Base and set the Gunpla on it.

The unit was highlighted for a split second, the GP Base scanning all the parts as a few settings were brought up. He chose the Name section, and started renaming the Unit.

"Epyon~ Rupture." He told himself as he typed the name in and sighed. "Now just need to test you out." He muttered before glancing at his clock. "Can't do that tonight, It's already morning. He noted as he scratched his head. "And I got a flight in a few hours." Alex grumbled as he took a moment. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow…" Standing he got to his feet as he shut the light off.

"Night Rupture. I'll see you in a few hours."

* * *

**Alright, here we have the birth and revision of the Epyon Rupture, or just Rupture for short. I wanted to give everyone a better idea on what the Rupture actually looked and and how it came to be. This chapter also explains what was left behind when Alex came to Japan, and to an extent his skill in Gunpla; Alex is/was captain of his own team for three summers, but no longer.**

**To be honest, when I originally started this months ago I'd been watching and reading The King's Avatar, and honestly found the thought of a pro being forced to "retire" and start over from the bottom to be rather interesting and messed up. That's where I got Alex's skill level from and was thinking on there being a lot of bad blood left between members that would force Alex's retirement from his team.**

**But I figured I wouldn't completely copy that series layout and decided to "switch it" I guess. They want to go pro, he doesn't. they're willing to drop out of school he's not. There's always something to sacrifice for hitting a big leagues, going cross country, leaving behind friends and family. Alex though... isn't willing to take that risk, at least not yet. And he's the guy that stays behind as the others chase their dreams.**

**Honestly this might be the best outcome for Stygian to go pro, there's no excessive bad blood between them all, but there is some. Alex leaves every six months, that means that they miss out on having him training with them and being eligible to enter fall and winter tournaments in the US.**

**Still whether that ends well for him and the others though, that's up for debate.**

**Still this story will focus on "the one left behind" who rejected the offer to go pro, staying in school and just doing basically summer - rather winter tournaments.**


	3. Chapter 2: Coming to Japan

His flight was early in the morning, barely got three hours in before he had to get up and leave. Thankfully most of his stuff was already packed, all save Rupture which he put in a protective casing and then his bag. That said, the flight seemed to be taking forever. Not that he really could complain. He slept for an extra hour before pulling out his laptop and started working on something, or at least he tried to.

"Come on Alex you can do this. Just start typing and let the rest just flow." He thought as he stared at the keyboard of his laptop and made to type something up. After staring at his computer for a few minutes though, the teen just groaned; leaning back in his seat as he rubbed his temples. "Damn it I hate when this happens." He grumbled. "I know what I want, but I can't get it on paper." He thought aloud before looking back at his writing and crossed his arms. He looked over what he wrote, rereading it all in his head before grumbling to himself. "Ugh this would be so much easier if I was with Amalea and Rapha—" He paused as he said their names. Remembering what they were doing at this moment. "Right…" He muttered as he stared out the window. "They're going pro…" He muttered as he rested his head on the windowsill. "I still don't blame them though." Anything he blamed himself.

Going pro was the dream of any Gunpla fighter. It took a lot of skill and dedication to get scouted; Stygian had both - He' be lying to himself to think otherwise. They had the best chance of making it in the Pro Circuits when compared to any US team in their age group.

Who was he to stand in their way?

"I wonder who they'll find to replace me." He muttered as he looked back at his laptop and seemed to frown at it. "Next time we meet… what will happen, will we still be friends, will we barely care for each other, or will we be enemies?" He didn't have an answer, but he was hoping that they were at least on good terms. "Regardless Alex, you gotta adjust, you're good at that."

Closing his laptop on reflex the teen just leaned on it as he started to let his thoughts drift away from his friends and old teammates and onto other subjects.

Alex Leongard; he was going to be 17 in a couple months, and this year he'd be spending it with his old Man in Tokyo, Japan; the birthplace of Anime, cosplay, and more importantly Godzilla. It was also the home of the first Real Life-sized Gundam statue, which he was definitely looking forward to seeing again.

_'Still…'_ The teen thought as a figure entered his mind._ 'Dad...'_

Alex wasn't on the best terms with his old man; they didn't argue, his dad didn't drink - as far as he knew anyway - and he wasn't a _dick_. It was just… there had always been this "wall" that kept them from really talking to one another. There was a line that separated them, and neither one seemed willing or able to cross it.

_'For another six months it's gonna be just me and him again, not really talking, just being near each other and me disappearing for school._' Glancing up at the seat-belt sign he noticed it flash to life. "And it looks like I'm here, again."

* * *

_Tokyo Airport_

_A few minutes later_

The reunion was as awkward as he expected. Staring up at his old man Alex just scratched his head and coughed into his palm. "Hey dad."

"Alex." Richard was a tall man, one maybe around 7ft. He had black hair and curiously pink eyes, traits that Alex had inherited from his old man. He opened his hands as if to hug his son, stopped, and then scratched his neck awkwardly before ruffling his kid's hair. "You got taller. What are you 5'5" now?"

"5'6"." Alex admitted as he shrugged. "So uh... "

"Yeah." The two fell silent as they looked around, trying to figure out what else to talk about. It was always like this. Sad thing was the two just didn't know how to talk to each other, even before Richard and his wife's divorce 5 years ago, both father and son had already had trouble talking to one another. "How's your mom?"

"Good. She's uh… she's dating again."

"Good, good…" Richard repeated as the two started walking to pick up Alex's luggage. "That's good to hear." He admitted as he looked to the side to see where baggage was. "So, your luggage."

"Yeah, I should probably get that." Alex admitted before he and his father started walking towards the baggage claim.

"Do you have everything you'll need for your stay?"

"Always do." Alex admitted as he started searching for his bags. "And a bit of room for whatever I bring back."

"That's always good." Richard stated as Alex spotted his bags and waited for them to come around. Alex had three in total, Hs backpack and two suitcases. That's how many he usually brought with him. Two suitcases for a six month stay in Japan and a school bag so he can continue his third and fourth semester here. "Well I got my stuff."

"Then let's go."

* * *

_About 40 minutes later_

Richard pretty much lived in the center of Tokyo, in a nice westernized home that could fit maybe 6 easily. As it stood, though there were three who were living in the building - four when you added Alex in. "Anya, we're back!" Richard called into the house as Alex looked around reflexively.

"In a second!" From the kitchen Anya called out, stepping into view Richard just smiled as the lithe raven haired woman walked up to him, pulling her apron off and using it to wipe her hands on. Anya kissed Richard as Alex blinked, mostly in surprise as he looked at the lithe woman. "Welcome back." She looked to Alex as she smiled at him. "You must be Alex, it's good to see you."

"Dad~" Alex began as he looked at his old man before watching Anya hold out her hand.

There was a ring on her finger.

"Alex." His father began with an honest smile. "This is Anya, she's your step-mother."

"I hope we can get along."

_'Dad remarried.'_ Now… normally, having a bomb like this dropped on a teen would inspire something in them. Maybe a form of gratitude and happiness, but most found it only inspired a sense of dread, anger, distrust and even betrayal.

Alex though; he didn't feel anything, or maybe it was that it was he just didn't know how to feel about this.

All he knew was he wasn't too surprised that something like this had happened; after all it had been five long years. His mom herself was putting herself back out there, looking for someone to settle down with. Besides, after the oddly clean divorce all those years ago, Alex never really banked on his parents getting back together.

Regardless of all that, Alex wasn't too certain on how to deal with the fact his dad had another woman in his life, let alone the fact he had a new step-mom.

_'Take it one step at a time.'_ Alex told himself. _'Yes something just got thrown in your face out from left field but take it slow. Breath, adjust to your new situation and just let everything wash over you like the rain.'_ He told himself. _'You're good at that Alex.' _Snapping out of his thoughts, and realizing he'd been staring for a second longer than he would have liked, Alex took the offered hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you." He said as Anya smiled at him.

"It's nice to meet you too Alex." She stated as she looked at him for a second before smiling. "You get your looks from your father." Anya admitted as she withdrew her hand and looked between the two for a moment. "You don't have his face though." Alex just shrugged.

"I got my moms." He admitted as he watched his dad stare at him, a look more hopeful than worried as he watched his son scratch his head. He was worried he'd be upset, could he was. He wanted them to get along. "So~ I should probably put my stuff up. Which room should I-"

"Right, of course." Richard stated as he made a gesture and started leading his son off. "Just follow me upstairs, your room will be across from Miko's."

"Miko?"

"That's our daughter." Anya admitted as she saw Alex turn back to her. "She's out with her friends now, but she'll be in later."

"Oh right…" Alex muttered as he turned back to follow his dad as he pulled his luggage along. Soon as they were out of earshot Alex just made a noise. "So~ you have a daughter now."

"Well, yeah." Richard stated as he smiled. "She's a good girl, real smart too. You two should get along well."

"I'm not good with little kids, dad."

"Then it's a good thing she's your age." Richard remarked as Alex glanced at a nearby picture. A family of three - just like the one mom carried. Though there were some obvious changes. Mom was replaced with Anya, and the white dress was replaced with a wonderful kimono. Dad looked older, and instead of him there was a young girl his age. Light brown hair, and pale azure eyes. The eyes were definitely Anya's, the hair though, that probably belonged to another.

"So." Alex muttered. "How long have you been married?" Alex asked. "I come every six months so It couldn't have been too recent."

We've been married since April." His dad stated as he stopped before a door. "We've been dating for a few years now though, and when I finally proposed and she said yes."

"Ah." Alex stated as he scratched his head. "Congrats."

"Thanks." Richard stated as he looked at his son. "I do hope you three get along." He scratched his head. "I know this I'll be an adjustment, I mean having a new mom and a sister but -"

"I get it." Alex cut him off as he sighed. "I've been making "adjustments" ever since I was a kid, remember?" Whether he intended it or not he bit the words out with more annoyance than he intended. Still with leaving his team still fresh in his head, and his typical situation of bouncing between houses, he needed an outlet.

"Alex…"

Realizing his words the teen took a breath as he calmed down, placing a hand over his face as he did so. "Sorry, sorry… I just… I have some shit going on back in New York and—" Alex wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to say, so instead he just looked at the door they had stopped at, and gestured to it. "I'ma, I'ma unpack real quick."

"Yeah. That sounds like a plan. You'll be joining us downstairs when you're done right?" Richard asked as Alex scratched his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds good." Richard just stared at his son as he disappeared into his room and closed the door behind him. Sighing, the man ran a hand through his hair and headed downstairs.

"How'd it go?" Anya asked as she looked at her husband and watched him sit down with a groan. "That bad huh?" She sat down next to him as she smiled.

"It wasn't _too_ bad, we actually talked but…" Richard admitted. "I swear I just… I can't get through to that boy." He muttered. "Maybe I'm just not good with kids. My own son and I can barely stand talking for a few minutes, and our daughter?" He made a noise. "Well our daughter doesn't really like me, does she?"

"Give it some time." Anya stated as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Miko's just not used to you yet, and Alex… I'm sure he'll come around, you just have to find some common ground to meet at."

"I really wish I knew what that common ground was." Richard stated. "When he was growing up, I tried everything, sports, tv-shows, his classes… it's just… like there's this "wall" between us that neither of us can cross, and I'm worried that neither of us want to try crossing it." Richard stated. "Still if there could be something for us to talk about though, something for us to work on together then… maybe."

"I'm sure you'll find it." Anya stated. "You'll find what that is for both Alex and Miko."

In his room Alex just sighed as he sat on the floor, his attention turned away from his laptop as he looked at the protective case that was in his backpack and pulled it out. Undoing the locks he smiled, looking at Epyon Rupture and pulled it out. "Well, we're here, you enjoy your nap, partner?" He asked the figure and started carefully taking it apart. "And now that we're here, I promised I'd give you a tune up, didn't I?" He stated as he set the removed parts on a tray. "Need you in top shape for tomorrow, we'll be looking for a place to battle after all."

* * *

**Alright this is where Build Fighters - Next originally started, admittingly enough their isn't really any changes to what happened here and in the previous story version posted of this story. The same will go for the next few chapters; they'll have small changes that might go unnoticed, so If you want to skip them and go straight to the actual latest chapter, I understand.**


	4. Chapter 3: A night With the family

They'd been staring at one another for maybe a whole two minutes now. Neither of them bothered to say anything as they made eye contact. "Miko."

"Alex." Their parents called out as they pulled the two out of whatever thoughts they were having.

"Yeah?" Anya just shook her head.

"Miko, this is who your father was telling us about, this is your new step-brother Alex."

"And Alex, this is your step-sister Miko."

"Ah." The two muttered as they went back to staring at one another.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Alex stated as Miko adjusted her bag and looked at her mom. Miko had her hair pulled back, It wasn't in the neatest braid he had seen, but it wasn't sloppy either. Had to compare it to… anything it was kinda like Mordred's from Fate/Apocrypha, just longer.

"Uh, mom, I'm gonna head upstairs and relax for a bit. I gotta work on something."

"Alright, just don't leave your room a mess." Anya told her. "Don't want you stepping on anything important and breaking it." Miko just rolled her eyes.

"That was one time mom. Ever since I've kept things organized." Miko stated as she started heading upstairs." As for Alex, he just looked at his laptop on the living room table and walked over to it. Going back to what he was doing earlier he started typing something up as Richard looked at the two kids as Anya nodded her head.

"I think that went better than expected." Richard just looked at her as she shrugged. "They weren't yelling or volleying insults." Anya admitted. "And they certainly weren't doing those fake greetings." She admitted as she gave her husband an obviously forced and fake smile. "_It's nice to meet you, I'm only going to be polite because our parents are watching_." She tried dropping the smile, instead just breaking into a giggle as she looked at the stairway and then the couch.

"Yeah I guess." Richard admitted. "Still, I wish they hadn't sized each other up like they had."

"Well this is their first meeting, I'd be more concerned if they weren't sizing the other up." She said as she nudged her husband. "I'm sure they'll get along." She stated as she looked at her husband and watched him head to the kitchen. It was his night to cook dinner so she had a few moments to herself. She chose to spend it by walking up to Alex and peering over his shoulder. "Doing homework?"

"No." Alex muttered as he continued typing. "Writing a story concept."

"You write stories?" Anya stared in interest.

"Fanfics really." The teen admitted. "I… got into it because of my friends in middle school."

"Really~" She asked as she leaned closer. "What are you writing about?"

"Gundam." That made Anya's eyes shine with interest.

"You like Gundam?"

"Uh yeah." Alex said awkwardly as he looked at his step-mother. "Why do you ask?"

"Miko and I love Gundam." The woman states with a growing smile as she sits across from her step-son. "We've been fans for years now."

"Really?" Alex stopped typing as he watched the woman nod her head. "You don't say."

"I do say." The woman countered. "I fell in love with it when I was a little girl, and thankfully Miko fell for it too." She giggled. "Technically she fell hard for the anime husbands, but whatever works."

"Course she did." That actually made Alex smile as he leaned back and scratched his brow. Falling for a character in anime, that sounded so typical. "Who'd she fall for? Heero? Kira?"

"Not my place to say." Anya admitted as someone popped into her head. "You wouldn't want me to tell the world your anime crush right?" That actually made Alex blush as he looked back at his computer. "Didn't think so." She stated as she looked at his computer. "Can I see what you're writing?"

"Uh sure." Alex said with a bit of enthusiasm before passing his computer over.

"Let's see… Mobile Suit Gundam: Orphans of the Dynasty War." She looked at Alex for a moment as she raised an eyebrow. "Is this related to Iron Blooded Orphans series?"

"Not exactly.. It's a… a custom scenario I'm trying to work on." Anya made a humming noise as she started reading.

* * *

**Mobile Suit Gundam Orphans of the Dynasty War**

**Prologue:**

_"It's scary how quiet it is out here."_

_That's the only thing that runs through the young man's head as he looks out from his spot, staring out into the night sky as his finger gently nudges a cup of cola on the table. Each nudge he gives it causes those everyday bubbles to start shifting to the top of the cup only to fizzle out. There's a half liter not too far from it, just sitting there waiting to be emptied. He doesn't pay much attention to either at the moment though, nor the hexagonal tablet that was displaying two sets of holographic feed for him to look over. One was a list of data, the other was a live feed showing a thousand MS Units - Mobile Suits marching through a city; ignoring retaliation fire and ignorant to the idea of self-preservation._

_The Eldora Army; AAI - Autonomous Artificial Intelligence controlled MS units. At the minimum, they numbered in the thousands; they were inexhaustible fighting force, unwavering, unquestioning. Perfect soldiers._

_Still he doesn't care too much about them at the moment, he just stared outside, looking at the starlight sky as he continued to finger his cup in thought._

_In his ears - in his mind he just replays everything that happened not a week ago._

* * *

_Memory_

_Smoke and Fire, that's what the world had been reduced too; an endless sea of smoke and fire. It hurt to breathe, the embers were choking his lungs and stinging his eyes. There's blood on his hands, most of it belonging to the one who tried protecting him from the storm of shards released from an oversized Needle Grenade._

_For the next couple days he'll grow to feel responsible for her death, blaming it on his rash behavior. Right now though, right now he just tried getting his head back together, shaking off the haze and the pain he was in. When he comes all the way back, his eyes widen, his gaze locking on something in the sky._

_"No…"_

_It's a ship. It's not just any ship; it's a legged ship, her ship. It's under fire from both land and sky; Eldora Army soldiers were firing upon it with surgical precision, they're mono-sensor eyes glowing with a vile green color. The legged ship isn't the only one being fired upon, there are others carrying wouldbe survivors of the attack. He doesn't see them though, the legged ship is all he wants to see._

_"Stop." He mutters as he forces himself to his feet. "Stop! That's my mom's ship!" He begs, stumbles forward and tries to run, do anything he can, and it's all for nothing. The Eldora Army fail to acknowledge him, just continues firing. The legged ship retaliates best as it can; missiles, linear cannons… everything it had was seemingly being indiscriminately fired._

_It wasn't enough._

_Even with the Mobile Suit units that were protecting it, it wasn't enough._

_Fire erupted from the ship, parts were falling from the sky like meteors, and it fell, descended like a small space colony. Even then, the Eldora Army didn't stop their attack, making certain that no survivors escaped from pods or anything._

_Then one by one they disappeared; the Eldora Army didn't retreat, no. They were cut down, blasted out of the sky as the opposing Mobile Suits struck with seemingly renewed vigor. Several in particular seemed to move as though they were possessed by demons themselves. They were giving everything the could to make sure that someone from the legged ship survived._

_He ran; ran towards the chaos, ran towards where the legged ship was falling. As he runs he sees the others fall, and he sees that unit fall._

_It was at that moment, his world came crashing down._

* * *

_Present_

_Biting back tears, the young man grunts as he grabs his cup and chugs it, letting the bubbles fizzle down his throat before he takes a breath. He doesn't respond when the door slides open, a few footsteps start to approach as he grunts._

_"I had a feeling you'd be here." Turning his head the young man saw a girl standing a bit away from him. She's… pretty, there really is no better way to say it. She's maybe 17- and filling out quite nicely. Her hair was pink and her eyes a shade of azure. She dressed herself in a short tight tank top and shorts. He just looked at her before returning to his drink._

_"How'd you know?"_

_"I came here when I first hurt." She admitted as she walked off for a moment, disappearing to grab a cup before returning to sit across from him. Without warning she grabbed the half liter of coke and poured herself a drink. "I just sat here, just stared out into space, trying to make sense of everything." Her counterpart just stared at her for a moment before looking elsewhere. "How are you holding up?"_

_"I'm fine…" The boy muttered._

_"No you're not." The young woman countered as Fayt just stared off into space. "You're hurting right now."_

_"So what if I am?"_

_"It's alright to hurt." She whispered as she looked at her counterpart. He wasn't the most handsome young man around, but he wasn't plain either - let alone repulsive. His hair was a dark brown-blonde color and his eyes were a shade of onyx. "We're all hurting inside." She whispered again as her counterpart just took a drink. If it were alcohol, she was pretty sure he'd be wasted by now. Then again she'd probably empty a bottle herself. "The hurt… the pain… that means we're still human."_

_"… They're gone." Her counterpart choked as he raised a hand to his face and covered his eyes. "I just… I can't believe that they're…"_

_"I know." His counterpart got to her feet and walked around the table, wrapping her hands around her counterparts head and back as they flinched for a moment before relaxing into her embrace. "It's ok… you can let it out."_

_He could do a bit of spring cleaning for the soul. Let out the hurt and the pain._

_He didn't, instead he grabbed her waist and pushed her away, turning his head and rubbed his eyes, fighting his tears back as she watched._

_"Where are we going? He asked once he was done and returned to his soda. "We're being taken somewhere… where exactly though?"_

_"I don't know." She muttered as she looked elsewhere. "I wasn't told." She admitted as she raised a hand to her neck, locking it around a necklace of sorts. "I know what we're going to do though." She fell silent as she seemed to think back. "We're going to survive, we're going to live on, beyond that… we're going to finish what they started."_

_"Yeah." The two fell silent as they stared out into space._

_"What's your name?" The young woman asked._

_"Fayt."_

_"I'm Rosa." The young woman introduced herself as she stared at the tablet, taking notice of the time it was showing. "Come on, you should get some sleep, you're going to need it."_

* * *

Anya just made a noise as she looked at the last line and looked at her son in law. "I like your writing style."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious. I like your writing style." Anya stated. "Your style is a bit different from some others but it's still good. Your main character, Fayt seems to be suffering from a recent tragedy, and Rosa seems to understand him, trying to help a bit." She paused for a moment. "I kinda feel that you're going for the Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl trope with their dynamic, but you mention that she was hurting too a while back and she's sort of moved past it, while he's still hurt because he hasn't had time to heal yet." Anya stated as she clapped her hands. "Now I have questions though."

"Shoot."

"The Eldora." She began. "That's from the Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE series right?"

"Yeah." Fayt admitted. "I wanted to use the Death Army they're based off of, but at the same time I wanted to sort of upgrade them, and turn them into a sort of superior model to work with."

"Hence the Eldora. Which is basically an improved Death Army." Anya stated as Alex nodded. "And they're AAI, so they don't have pilots. Does that mean that they have a Master unit that they follow like an 'Eldora Death Gundam'?"

"Eh maybe." Alex stated as he waved his hand in a so-so manner. "They do have a master AAI that they take orders from, but I'm not sure yet if it's going to be an Eldora Death Gundam or something else; it might be, but I'm not too sure yet." Alex admitted as he was given his laptop again.

"And Fayt, he's never met Rosa right?" Alex nodded. "Are they going to get together in this story?"

"Eh~" Alex muttered as he twisted his hand again. "Maybe, I don't wanna get your hopes up cause I might change the idea later but… yeah."

"Gotcha. Now Mobile Suits; which ones are they going to use?"

"I'm actually having a bit of trouble there." Alex stated as he looked at his computer, an open window showing the Gundam Wiki. "I want to give the main cast something basic then have them upgrade their units later on, to kinda show progress and making the mobile suits suit their own preferences, but at the same time I want to give them something kinda custom to start off with."

"But~"

"But if I follow that route, I need to design those mobile units, and I've only done Fayt's so far. Cause he's gonna use mine, but I don't want him to be the only one with a custom unit."

"You have a Gunpla?" Anya asked as a sense of curiosity washed over her. "Are you a Fighter?" Alex nodded his head as Anya grinned. "Miko's into Gunpla, she has her own model too."

"Really?"

"Taught her everything she knows." She flexed a muscle as she winked. "In fact she's probably working on her Gunpla right now." She lowered her hand. "Maybe you two could have a match one of these days."

"Maybe."

"Mom~" Hearing her daughter's call from the stairway, Anya looked behind her. "My modelling knife is a bit damaged, can I borrow yours?"

"I'll get it for you."

"Thank you." Anya just got to her feet as she started to stretch.

"Well, duty calls. You can tell me more about your story later, ok."

"Sure." Alex stated as Anya started walking off as he looked back at his laptop and went back to writing. He failed to notice Anya flicking off a number of fingers.

_'5… 4… 3… 2… 1…'_

Alex looked up as he suddenly turned to the stairway. "I… I just had an actual conversation with my stepmom." He realized. "I can't even talk to my dad, and yet I just had a full conversation with a woman who I hadn't known existed until a few hours ago." He stared at his computer before looking back at the stairway. "How the hell did she do that?"

_'I'm trying to figure that out myself.'_ Richard thought as he looked from the other end of the hall. _'I swear that woman works miracles.'_

* * *

_Dinner_

Dinner was weird. Alex realized that much easily as he ate. Spread was nice, sure, it was just… it was a bit quiet. Anya did most of the talking, and one thing Alex was quickly learning that the woman was a natural at getting people to talk to her. Only issue was when the other three in her little household tried talking to each other it was like they were just testing the waters, or dancing around landmines.

"So Miko, are you finished repairing Rose Wing?" Richard asked as Miko just continued chewing what was in her mouth for a moment.

"Almost." She admitted. "I have to do some work on the joints to make movement a bit smoother."

"What about you Alex, you said you have a Gunpla earlier too, right?" Anya brought up as Alex nodded his head.

"Yeah, I gave Rupture a tune up earlier."

"You named it Rupture?" Miko asked as she looked at the teen.

"I thought you were unpacking." Richard asked as he looked at his son.

"I did both." Alex stated as he continued eating.

"Well, what unit is it based on?" His dad asked as he leaned forward. Much as he hated to say it, he wasn't that into the Gundam franchise, but he knew about it. Even did a few Gunpla battles in his days, but he wasn't incredible at it.

"Epyon at its core, plus a few add-ons." Alex stated as he started eating. "When I think about it though, I do need some new parts for Rupture, I'm considering redesigning the leg armor."

"Well the Gundam Base is always open for builders." Anya stated. "I'm sure they can cater to your needs."

_'If only I had the money left to fulfil those needs.'_ Alex thought before nodding his head. Didn't matter which household he was in, he got his allowance every week. If he didn't spend it, then there was a good chance he could buy a few new parts. That said this was Japan they had the parts that he couldn't get in New York. "I'll check that out tomorrow." Alex stated as he watched Miko turn to her phone, though he couldn't see what she was doing she noticed her frown as Anya sighed.

"Miko, what did I tell you about having your phone at the table?"

"Sorry, sorry." Miko muttered as she put her phone away.

"Was it anything important?" Richard asked as Miko shook her head.

"Not really, just one of my friends having trouble with her boyfriend." Miko stated. "I can get back to her later." Miko stated as she seemed to drift off.

"I see." Richard muttered as he watched the young girl go back to eating.

"So~" Miko asked after a moment as she looked at Alex. "You like Gunpla." Alex just nodded his head. "You any good in battle?"

"I can hold my own." Alex admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, Gunpla fights are at school, it's a good way to pass the time."

"Speaking of school." Richard cut in as he looked at his son. "Alex, as soon as summer break ends you'll be transferring to Seiho Academy to continue your studies."

"I figured…" Alex stated as he took a drink. "I always go to a new school while I'm here." The teen stated as he lowered his cup and slowly started to think. "Seiho Academy, that's… I've heard that name before somewhere."

"It's the school that the 6th Gunpla World Championship Sei Iori went to." Miko stated as Alex made a noise.

"Right, that was what, nine years ago?" Miko nodded as she looked at her food. "I have his matches saved on my laptop."

"Same." Miko admitted. "I just have a bunch of tournament fights saved on my computer. If anything they're fun to watch."

"Yeah, I'll give you that." Alex stated as he looked at his plate, "Can I have seconds please?"

* * *

_A couple hours later_

"Well dinner wasn't too bad." Alex thought as he stared off into space, his attention focused on the ceiling as he leaned back on his bed. "If not for Ms. Anya, I don't think any of us would have made a peep." He muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and started to think. "Ms. Anya's nice, Miko's a bit distant though." He muttered. "I wonder how she feels about all this." Alex thought aloud as he closed his eyes. "Dad said that he got married in April so maybe she's just…" He snorted. "Adjusting to things like I am." Alex grumbled as he looked at the time and shook his head. It was definitely getting late, and Jet Lag was probably gonna set in in a few hours. "Better turn in." Alex muttered as he made to change his clothes only to stop. "Hm?"

It was faint but he could have sworn he heard something. Sounded like feet creaking on the steps. "Probably nothing." Alex thought as he went back to what he was doing before stopping and headed outside his room. Hall was as black as he expected, then again it was almost 11 here in Tokyo. Though it looked like someone heading down the steps, trying not to be caught. "Miko?"

The girl froze as she looked up the steps and stared at the teen, seeming to stare for a minute in the dark before trying to recognize who it was. "Alex?" She finally said as she groaned. "Right, right, you're staying across from me now." The young woman breathed as she rubbed her temples.

"Sneaking out I take it?"

"What gives you that idea?"

"It's what I do sometimes." Alex stated as he crossed his arms.

"You sneak out?"

"Only when I have a place to be late at night." Alex stated as he walked down the steps to look at Miko and crossed his arms. "This have anything to do with your text earlier?"

"If it does?" Miko countered as she put her hands on her hips. "Gonna tell your dad?"

"If I wanted to rat you out I'd tell your mom." Alex countered as the two stared off. "Do you want me to?"

"Do you want a black eye?" Miko stated as she narrowed her eyes. For a moment neither said anything as they stared off, figuratively a dragon and tiger staring the other down before they started their mythological feud. Question was which was the tiger in this scenario, and who was the dragon? Miko took a breath as she looked away and rubbed her temple. An action Alex actually copied unconsciously. "Look… I'm sorry. This is not how I want things to go."

"Yeah… me too."

"I'm just… not used to 'this' ok." Miko just waved her arm as if gesturing to something invisible in the room.

"Me neither." Alex grumbled. "Back up like five minutes?"

"Better than nothing." Miko stated. "Yes." She said after a while. "I have somewhere to be tonight."

"Where?"

"Just a local hang out I frequent." Miko stated as she gestured to her bag. "I got a match set up tonight, so I gotta step out for a bit."

"What kinda match?"

"Gunpla, what else?" The young woman stated as she looked at Alex for a moment. "Hey… you said you had a Gunpla to right, Rupture?"

"That's right."

"You any good with it?"

"Pretty sure at dinner I said I could hold my own." Alex stated.

"Hey, I'm just making sure." Miko stated as she raised her hands in defense. "You wanna tag along? There's plenty of tough fighters where I'm going."

"Invited to sneak out and go Gunpla fighting with a girl, oh that's so~ romantic." Alex said sarcastically as Miko rolled her eyes. "But sure, I'm in." Alex stated as he turned. "I was planning on looking for a place to debut Rupture anyway." Walking back up the steps Alex just glanced back as he looked at Miko. "This just lets me get a head start on tomorrow." He told her as he reached the top of the stairs and headed back to his room. A few minutes later he stepped out, Rupture in his bag as well as a jacket covering his form. He failed to notice that a figure was peeking from Miko's room.

Anya just smiled as she watched Alex disappear down the steps and started walking back to the room she shared with her husband. "Oh those two are going to get along just fine. Love for Gunpla can bring even bitter enemies together."


	5. Chapter 4: Our First Battle

Depending on where you went in Tokyo, Japan at night; the city revealed itself to be rather quiet or relatively loud. The latter seemed to be happening tonight. Looking around Alex caught sight of all the people that were still going about tonight, someone staggered out of a bar, another was entering one of those late night cafe places and others were hitting spots for a snack or something. "Wonder if there's gonna be drag races tonight." Miko looked at Alex's confusion on her face. "What, I watched Tokyo Drift."

"Of course you did." Miko muttered as she looked back ahead, a sliver of a smile on her face as Alex put his hands behind his head.

"So where are we going anyway?"

"Where else, we're heading to the Gundam Base." Miko stated as she looked at Alex. "It's open 24/7 you know."

"Yeah that's fair." Alex released a smirk. "Still I thought that you were taking me to some underground Gunpla fighting arena, not to a local joint." Miko returned the look with a smirk.

"Let's see how well you do at a local spot first, then we'll talk about the Underground." Alex blinked, surprise on his face as he stopped walking.

"I was just joking, there's actually an underground Gunpla arena?" Miko didn't answer, instead just continued walking as Alex started chasing after her. "Hey, that's a serious question is there some kind of underground for Gunpla battles?"

Miko just kept to herself as Alex pouted. The two kept walking for a good few minutes before coming to their destination.

"Miko!" The girl looked up as she entered the store and found another looking at her, a smile on her as she walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. "Bout time you got here. What was the hold up?"

"Yeah sorry." Miko stated as she pulled herself from the hug. "Got held up a bit Rai."

"I'll say, any later and you would have missed out." Rai stated as she put her hands in her hoodie as Alex looked at her. Curiously Rai had purple hair, and he couldn't tell if that was because of dye or just natural. Her eyes were amber colored, and her hoodie was turned up. She grinned though, looking at her friend as she saw her scratch her head. "What happened anyway, get caught by your mom finally?"

"Not exactly." Miko stated as she looked back to Alex as he waved halfheartedly. "He caught me when I was about to head over." Rai leaned at Alex before pulling her friend away and "discretely" began to whisper into her friend's ear.

"Who's this?"

"Mr. Richard's son." Miko stated as Rai stared for a minute before hammering a fist into her palm.

"Oh your step-brother, could have just said that." Miko shot an impassive look at Rai as the girl just looked at Alex. "You could have, I mean he is after all."

"Too soon to start seeing him that way." Miko grumbled.

"Well you might wanna start less you wanna try seeing how well you can reenact Domestic Girlfriend." Miko palmed her friend on the head as she pushed her back.

"Don't even." Miko grumbled. "That's just gross."

"Is he single?" Rai just pushed her friend's hand away as she leaned in again. "If so, I have this friend who's looking for a boyfr-." Miko grabbed both her friends cheeks as she started to pull. "Ow ow ow ow!"

"Focus Rai." Miko stated as she turned to Alex, watching him with a loose smile on his face

"You must be really close." He muttered as he approached the duo as Rai started massaging her cheeks. "I'm Alex Leongard. Last name Leongard, first name Alex."

"Yamoshin Rai." Rai stated as she held out her hand and shook his free one. "Last name Yamoshin, first name Rai."

"Nice to meet you."

"Ditto." Rai stated as the trio walked further into the store. "So what brings you here to our little arena?"

"Oh I'm just here to let Rupture spread his wings a bit." Alex patted his bag and smiled. "Was gonna wait till tomorrow but~ might as well get a round in before Jetlag sets in."

"Smart." Rai states as she looks over to the rest of the people gathered around the store. "We needed one last person for our team match." Miko paused before she looked to Rai.

"What are you talking about? We already have enough people."

"We _did_." Rai countered as she scratched her head. "Taka-kun won't be able to make it tonight. His sister caught something and he has to help look after her."

"Oh." Miko muttered as she crossed her arms. "So we do need another person or it's a handicap match."

"Then it's a good thing you invited me after all." Alex stated as he looked to Miko, who shrugged.

"Seems like it."

You don't sound happy." Rai stated as she watched Miko make a so-so gesture.

"At the most I was expecting to fight against him, not with him."

"Guess your out of luck." Alex stated as he looked back to Rai. "So, who we fighting?"

"_Reddokurōbā_." Alex blinked for a moment as he tried translating that in his head.

"Red Clover?"

"It's a type of clover found in Japan." Rai stated with a shrug. "I don't know why they picked that for their name but… meh." She stated. "Either way they're new but they're good, they've been making a name for themselves on the local boards, supposedly they're aiming for the Gunpla World Tournament." Alex twitched at the name before taking a short breath.

"Good for them." Alex muttered as he rocked his head from side to side. "So, where are they?"

"Already waiting for us at the arena." Rai stated as she waved at the woman at the front desk and lead the others to the back of the store. "Yo! We're here." The girl called out as she looked to see five others waiting for her.

"You came back!" Another girl cheered as she hugged Rai. "I thought you were gonna abandon me~"

"Hono-chan I'd never do that." Rai stated as she looked at the sobbing girl in her arms. "I was just waiting to see if Miko would come." Miko rolled her eyes as she looked at the girls and stepped forward.

"Of course I'd come, and I brought a sub in for Taka-kun." Miko stated as she gestured to Alex who was busy staring off into space.

_'Ah the smell of Gunpla plastic and Plavsky particles, it permeates the air and fills everything with a sense of unending battle and unsung warriors.'_ Alex snorted. "Is what I would say if that made any sense." Alex snickered as he turned his attention to the girls, his attention immediately turning to the girl that was invading his personal space. "Uh hi?"

"Alex this is Honoka, she's a friend." Miko stated as she stared at the teens. Honoka had everyday black hair, but her eyes were green. "Honoka this is Alex, he's my new… step brother." Honoka just continued to stared at him, and he stared back, a bit of confusion and discomfort on his face as the girl leaned closer.

"Sup."

"Hello." Honoka replied as she grabbed one of Alex's hands and ran her own over it a few times. "Strong hands…"

"Excuse me?" Miko stepped between her weirded out stepbrother and her friend as she pushed them apart.

"Hono-chan, don't weird him out already, he just got here."

"Too late." Alex took a step back as he shook his hand as if he was trying to shake something off. "So, we doing this?" Alex asked as he looked at Team Red Clover and watched them pull themselves from their seats.

"Yeah." Alex just released a sliver of a smile as he looked back at the girls.

"So how's this team match going to work? A straight 4-on-4 or 1-on-1 elimination matches?"

"4-on-4." A boy on Team Red Clover stated as he looked up from his phone. "You up for it?"

"Depends, you think you can take me?" Alex countered as he started rotating his wrists, cracked his knuckles, and flexed his fingers. The boy just smiled, releasing a chuckle as he pulled out his GP Base.

"Dibs on this guy." He stated as he looked at his team. "You guys don't mind do you?"

"He's all yours Takashi." Miko sighed as she looked at Alex and shook her head. Hopefully he didn't just bite off more than he could chew.

"Well then, let's get this show on the road."

**"Please set your GP Base"**

**"Beginning Plavsky Particle Dispersal"**

**"Field 3: Forest"**

**"Please set your Gunpla."**

**"Battle start!"**

Everyone called out the name of their Gunpla as they sent them off. Alex decided to spare a glance at the surroundings. "Huh, the field simulates Autumn." He muttered as he let Rupture fly beside the rest of the team. "Looks nice."

Miko just made a noise as she looked at the mobile unit that joined her and the others. "So that's Rupture."

Meanwhile Alex just looked at the Rose Wing, making a noise as he took in it's details. "Looks like a modified Wing Zero Custom…" He noted quietly. Legs though were that of a Knight Gundam, and the feet ended in heels. The twin Wing binders looked custom, and their movements were more flexible, like she built it over base for the Freedom from Gundam Seed. Looked like the Buster Rifle was actually attached to the base of the wings, held between what he guessed were subarms, while a beam saber was located between the wings themselves. The shoulder emblem was that of a rose with wings behind it. "Ah so that's why she gave it the name Rose Wing." Looked like Mirage Colloid was added into the development, only instead of making the suit turn invisible it made it look like rose petals were fluttering behind it. "Nice touch." He muttered as he took a breath and opened communications. "Yo, you ready for this?"

"Yeah."

"Great!" Honoka asked as she and Rai came on screen. "So what's the plan?"

"That unit in the back…" Rai muttered as she stared at the mobile suit. "Isn't that an Arche Gundam Drei?"

"With a GN Buster Sword." Alex muttered. "The mobile suit was meant to be the instrument of Nena's revenge against Ali al-Saachez, but it was never built and saw active duty…" He remarked. "Guess we get to see what it's capable of."

"Wait…" Honoka looked at Alex froher part of the screen. "You know about this unit?"

"It was in Mobile Suit Gundam 00V: Battlefield Record graphic novel." The teen stated offhandedly. "Although personally, I found it while I was browsing the Wiki."

"Oh… gotta love the Gundam Wiki." Honoka stated. "Still that said, it's parameters are going to be low right?" Honoka asked as she stared at the Mobile Suit. "It shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Piloting skill can make up the difference." Rai muttered. "Dealing with that thing might be trouble."

"How do we deal with it?" Miko asked as Alex seemed to think.

"When I read the Wiki page; it said that the unit was made to combat the Arche, and using it's Stealth Field it could disrupt communications, radar, GN beam composition and even usage of the GN Fangs. That way Ali al-Saachez's Arche would be forced to fight with only it's Buster Sword and line-of-sight." The teen seemed to think for a moment. "And given it has the Arche's Buster Sword, it could be safe to assume "this version" is the Drei after Nena would have killed Ali...hm, and probably took it as a prize." Alex paused again. "I wonder if I can borrow that concept for my fanfic… would that even fit into my story though?"

"Alex, what the hell are you talking about?" Miko asked as Alex shook his head.

"Right, sorry, just ignore me."

"Anyway~" Rai cut in as they crossed an unofficial range limit and shots were fired. "Given what you said, GN weapons are going to be a no in this fight, and sensor range is going to be shot once we get close."

"Alex looks geared for Melee though." Honoka stated as Alex shrugged.

"I have an appointment to keep though, with… Takashi was it? What unit's his?" Rai just frowned.

"He pilots the Epsilon, it's the modified Delta Kai. Are you sure you'll be able to -"

"Huh, it's pink." Alex shrugged as he looked at the unit. "It doesn't look bad in pink." He muttered as he looked back at the others. "I'll take care of him. If I wrap things up fast enough I'll help deal with the Arche Drei."

"Confidant aren't you?" Miko released a humored smile as she watched her step-brother give her a light smile. "Are you sure you can beat Takashi?"

"I know I can beat him, but I'm just not sure how fast I can do it." Alex admitted as he took a breath. "So~ yeah." Alex stated as he started messing with his controls. "Can you ladies manage without me?"

"Of course." Honoka stated as she caught sight of a beam rifle being pointed in her direction. "See you when your 'dates' over."

"I don't date guys." Alex remarked as he and the girls moved, dodging the rifle fire as they started rushing forward. "That said… I hate being late to things so~." He hit a button, thrusters on the Rupture's body activating he sped forward. "I better pop in now."

"He's fast." Takashi locked on as he started firing on the mobile suit only to miss. Several shots from an arm mounted Beam Gatling hit air as the Rupture closed the distance and he was given an up close look at the units eye cameras. "What the-" A reenactment of Char's infamous kick from the Gundam sent his unit downward.

"Takashi!" The other three units turned as they took aim at the mobile suit and fired, only for the unit to move, flying downward as it disappeared into the treeline.

"Where'd he-"

"He's not showing up on radar?"

"Worry about him later!" Miko locked on to the Arche Drei as she pointed her twin buster rifle forward and fired. A single large wave of beam energy flying forward as her target dodged, zipping into the air before grabbing a GN Buster Rifle as Miko made a tsking noise. She dodged as she and her friends rushed in, picking their partners and starting their own battles.

* * *

_Ground_

"Damn, that mobile suit of his isn't just fast it hits hard…" Takashi muttered as he noticed some damage on his mobile Suit. "What the…" A crack, there was a crack on his mobile Suit's torso. Just how hard did he kick him? The Rupture stepped out of the woods a bit away from him, overriding his thoughts as he looked at it. "You cracked the extra armor, not bad." He said over the radio.

"Thank you." Alex stated as he looked over the Epsilon. "Not gonna lie; like the build." He could almost see Takashi grin over coms. "The v(Nu)'s Funnel Wings, arm-mounted gatling guns, shoulder-mounted beam cannon." Alex stated as he smirked. "And it's pink, do you know how _hard_ it is to find a pink mobile suit and have it look good?"

"Thanks, but flattery ain't getting you anywhere in this fight." Takashi stated as he made a noise.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Takashi drew his Beam Saber and ignited it.

"So… I hope there's more than that kick you pulled off." Though he couldn't see it, Alex smiled lightly.

"Guess you'll have to find out."

"I guess so." The connection cut, the two units just stared at one another before Takashi made the first move. He charged bringing the beam saber down as he struck. He missed; Epsilon's blade touching dirt as his eyes widened. "What the?" He looked to the side only to find the mobile suit standing there. "Was my aim off?" The Epsilon rose, swinging again as the Rupture started to move, dodging swing after swing as it appeared to be taking steps back. 'What the hell, why can't I hit him?'

_'Ah damn it the settings are on Default.'_ Alex grumbled as he lightly tapped the hard-light controls, re-familiarizing himself with the settings. "I knew I should have reset the controls for left-handed usage." The teen muttered as he shook his head, barely paying attention to the fact that his Gundam was still dodging the sword swings against it. "I swear I just gave myself a handicap…"

"Ok, try dodging this!" The Epsilon lunged as he thrust his sword forward.

"Oh well, guess it can't be helped this time around." The Rupture's eyes seemed to flash as it's arm moved alongside one of the subarms passing him the Anti-Ship Sword and deflected the swing to knock the Epsilon off balance. It stepped in, raising a leg as it kicked the Epsilon.

The Epsilon was forced back as he lowered his foot and moved. It swung it's Anti-Ship Sword, and the two clashed. Once, twice, three times before the unit jumped, using it's thrusters to get some needed air before coming down with another swing. Takashi and the Epsilon dodged, getting some distance before firing a Beam Gatling with it's off hand. With some help from it's thrusters, the Rupture dodged, moving to the side and around the forest floor as it circled the Epsilon.

_'I know it has the extra boosters but it shouldn't be this fast!'_ The Epsilon continued firing as the Rupture charged, jumping left and right as it closed the distance before seeming to disappear. "It's not just fast either; that reaction time -" A hand landed on the Beam Gatling as it pulled it back, followed by what a second latching on to the shoulder as Takashi grunted. "He's after either the arm or the gatling…" He activated his Funnels and launched them. Twisting them in the air as targeted the Rupture from behind. They fired and hit air, the Rupture already on the move again as it backed off. By the time the Epsilon turned it was already moving again, closing the distance as it dodged fire from the Funnels. The gatling - arm-mounted and actual weapon - as well a beam cannon joined shortly afterwards as the unit sped up, stepping into point blank of the gatling before seeming to vanish again.

Swinging around the Rupture turned and pointed, the right leg snapping out as it knocked the mobile suit off balance before stealing the Beam Gatling. Pilfered weapon in hand the Rupture fired on the downed Mobile suit, stopping only when the funnels returned to fire at him. The Epsilon sacrificed the Gatling cannon, blasting part of it as it caught fire and was subsequently thrown aside before it blew. The Funnels refocused on the mobile suit and started firing, and again the Rupture moved, its thrusters propelling it over the ground as it moved from side to side. _'How the hell is this thing so damn fast?'_

The Funnels just continued firing as they chased after the mobile suit, stopping when the Rupture disappeared into the woods did it all stop and the Epsilon managed to return to its feet.

"Damn… how the hell…" Takashi didn't finish that sentence as he looked around. Trying to see a shadow of where the Rupture had gone. "Nothing, it's not even on radar… how... " He muttered as he bit his lips. "Don't focus on that now… just try to stay in this." He told himself. The familiar sound of thrusters caught his attention as he turned, his funnels firing into the forest as he saw something flying in his direction. "The battle lance?" On impulse he directed his funnels toward shield him, the beam shield forming a wall before him as the lance collided with it.

It stayed in the air somehow as it tried drilling through the shield.

_'How is it…'_ Takashi paused as he saw the familiar light leaving the spear. "He attached a vernier thruster onto the lance?!"The shield held but the lance didn't drop. Not even when he noticed the Rupture charging from the woods. 'If I move the funnels, that lance is gonna punch a hole through my Epsilon.' He raised an arm, the mounted gatling firing he saw the mobile suit move around his shield and try closing the distance. It dodged to the side, before swinging its anti-ship sword as the Epsilon moved to the side. "At this range." He refocused the arm, made to grab the mobile suit and let the gatling start to spin.

The moment he did, he lost an arm. Seconds later, his suit was covered in lacerations, a leg was crippled the leg, and a funnel was destroyed, and lastly his main camera was blinded as his world went dark.

"Sorry about that." Alex muttered as he stretched his fingers and looked at his work, Rupture's Heat Rod/Tail glowing angrily as it moved in the air. He deactivated it, letting it fall limp and looked at his work. "But with you out the way, that leaves 3-to-4, our advantage." He heard a tree cave as his lance stabbed into it. "I'll get that later. Meanwhile…" He stretched slightly, sighed before looking back to the others fight. "Well I know I said I'd back the others up after I was done, but let's see how well they do first. Girls might not even need my help." He told himself as he crossed his arms and watched the show.

* * *

_Air_

A blip disappeared as Lao bit his lips. Still returning to the task at hand he dodged, bringing his GN Buster Sword up as he tried bisecting the Rose Wing in half. All he got for his trouble was hitting air as the Rose Wing dropped out the sky and turned, one of it's Buster Rifles aimed at him as it fired. He countered his own GN Buster Rifle firing as the two collided, a shockwave ripping through the area as the collision forced the two blasts to erupt, spraying the area in shards of beam energy. Lao grunted as he opened communications with the rest of his team. "Guys we just lost Takashi."

"Damn it." Roshi muttered as he put some distance between his Aegis and Rai's Nu Gundam. "Did he take that other guy out at least?"

"Don't know, he wasn't on radar when this started." Shirohoshi muttered as she had her Exia dodge Honoka's Burning Gundam. "For all we know he could be hiding."

"That's no fun." Roshi muttered as he started dodging Funnels.

"Keep an eye out will you." Lao muttered as he chased after the Rose Wing. Both readied their weapons before colliding. Out of nowhere the Rose Wing deactivated it's Beam Saber and dodged, letting Arche Drei lose balance before stabbing it, punching a hole in it's torso. Lao pulled back as he put some distance between the Arche Drei and the Rose Wing. Fangs erupted from their ports as the Rose Wing started to charge it's Twin Buster Rifle. She cut the power, going on the defensive as she started flying around, as the Fangs started flying around her as they fired.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Miko repeated the curse as she dodged, the twin Fangs flying around as she started charging her Twin Buster Rifle. "I hate Funnels, I hate Bits, I hate Fangs! I freaking hate them!" The Fangs positioned themselves around the GN Buster Rifle as they started as Miko groaned. The Rose Wing dived, dropping out the sky faster than the three weapons were able to fire as she started putting some distance between herself and Arche Drei. She started recharging her Twin Buster Rifle splitting it in two as she locked on to the unit and narrowed her eyes. and a second target. The first rifle fired, causing the Fangs to harmlessly scatter as the Arche Drei dodged. The second rifle was fired as the first started to recharge, this one chasing after the Gunpla as it started to dodge.

She repeated the pattern, stopping only when she was forced to dodge the Fangs that were suddenly on her, trying to ram her. She dodged the first, the second ramming into her arm and forced her to drop one of her weapons. The next time aimed at one of her joints before she dodged. Twisting he aimed at it with her remaining Buster Rifle only to have it knocked off target. She moved, trying to get some needed distance as she started dodging the Fangs. In the meanwhile Lao started charging his Buster Rifle as he took aim, locking onto the Rose Wing and fired. Sensors picked up a warning as he turned, dodging on instinct as his own shot went wide and cut through the air.

"What the?" Lao looked through the treeline as he traced where the previous shot had been, seeing a hole going through the artificial landscape and another Mobile Suit just hanging back. "That's the one that took out Takashi." He grunted as he took aim at the mobile suit and started charging a shot. The mobile suit seemed to lower the fallen Buster rifle and point in the distance. On impulse Lao turned dodging another shot from the Rose Wing as he muttered something and called back his Fangs.

Over coms the Miko just took a breath as she saw the Rupture start to rise. "Here I thought you weren't coming."

"I figured I'd watch how this turned out." The teen admitted he gestured to the Buster Rifle in his unit's hand. "That said… you need a hand?"

"I can take him." Miko stated with a small pout.

"Then I'll sit this one out." Alex stated as Lao moved his unit's head.

"You sure you don't want to jump in?" He asked as the Rupture just looked at him. "I don't mind taking you both on." The Rupture's pilot chuckled before physically responding._ 'Did… did he just make his Gundam shrug?'_

Yes he did.

"I don't plan on ruining her date tonight, but if it gets out of hand~ I'll gladly butt in." Alex admitted. "Especially since I have to head home with this one."

"Oh I feel so~ loved right now." Miko stated as she rolled her eyes. "But thanks for looking out for me."

"No worries, in the meanwhile have fun."

"I intend to." Miko stated as she pointed her remaining Buster Rifle at the Arche Drei. "Now that that's settled, let's continue."

"As you wish." Lao charged, dodging a buster shot as he closed in. Miko countered with her beam saber in her off hand, blocking the massive buster sword before deflecting it to the side. He countered by launching his Fangs again, as she prepared for another swing and backed off. She dodged the first, drifting to the side as the second grazed her shoulder armor. He took aim with his Buster Rifle and fired, missing when she dropped out the sky and dived. Lao dragged the beam, letting it chase after her as she opened her wings up.

"Looks like she did get the wing idea from Freedom." Alex muttered as he watched her feathers spread out in a manner that allowed HiMAT. The petals from her wings started to become more common as she started dodging, sidestepping Fang and Buster Rifle as they tried hitting her. "Those petals really are a nice touch."

She turned in the air, clavicle machine cannons opening up as she focused on one of the Fangs. A barrage of bullets blew the thing to bits as she turned, focusing on the second one. She dodged the moment she started trailing after it, a buster shot firing behind her as she watched the paint on her leg start to peel. "Damn it, I just repainted that." Miko muttered as she turned her attention to the Arche Drei and flew back for a bit of distance. The top part of her wings flipping forward as they fired a pair of hidden beam cannons.

"What the?" Lao grunted as he dodged, only to find a barrage of shells fired from the machine turrets. Crashing into him. "So those wings really are based on Freedom." He muttered as he glanced at his Buster Rifle and made a noise. "The charge will take too long against this rate of fire." He charged, using his Buster Sword as a shield before swinging. Miko blocked with her Beam Sword. She pushed, he pushed back, the weight of his weapon forcing her to move as she lost a part of her shoulder armor. Miko just circled around firing from her machine cannons as she started getting some distance. She stopped when she swung her blade, a trail of beam energy colliding with steel as it punched through the Arche Drei's forearm. Lao countered by aiming his GN Buster Rifle at near point-blank and fired, missing as the Rose Wing slammed her own rifle onto it and made its shot dig into the ground. He released his Rifle, sacrificing it as he grabbed onto the Rose Wing's arm and squeezed, plastic bending as he held on tight.

"What is he - the Fang!" From behind the Fang fired as Miko bit her lips watching her unit get hit, Warning Signals popping up as it was fired upon. She swung her sword arm, bringing it down as the Buster Sword blocked. She deactivated her sword as she twisted jabbing it forward and into the unit's head before igniting it again. Main camera gone, she started dragging it down as the Arche Drei started to fly back and bring it's buster sword across. "To close!" A sudden burst of beam energy dissolved the oversized blade as she suddenly glanced at her camera, the sight of Rupture aiming her second Rifle as she smiled. Without hesitating though she turned her attention back towards the Arche Drei as she closed the gap again, bringing her beam saber down as she finished cutting it in two. The Fang that had been firing upon her suddenly stopped firing as it fell, Rose Wing's back started to smoke. The two halves of the Arche Drei fell, plummeting to the ground as she took a needed breath. "Got him."

"Nice work." Alex stated over coms as he floated closer.

"Yeah…." She smiled. "I told you I could take him."

"You did." Alex admitted as he passed her the second Buster Rifle and the Rose Wing connected it to it's first.

"Thanks for that shot though."

"Don't mention it." Alex said over coms as he looked to the two others. They had just enough time to see Honoka's Burning Gundam get stabbed by the Exia and deactivated. "Well, 2-on-3 now huh."

"Looks like it." Miko stated as she took in the sight of the Exia flying over to support the Aegis. "Come on, we have to support Rai."

"Done and done." Alex stated as the two gave chase. "Hey, Rai single?"

"You're not dating one of my friends."

"Was worth a shot."


	6. Chapter 5: Respite of the First Battle

"Wa~ I died!" Honoka rested her head on the arena table as it powered down. Rai comforting her as she patted her back as Miko just gave her friends a thumbs up. "I was the first one to die, that's not fair!" She paused as she looked up starting to think back. "Wait I was the only one to die! That's even worse!"

"There there, Hono-chan, it's alright." Rai stated. "You'll do better next time." She looked to Miko and Alex for support. Miko just nodded her head as Alex raised his hands in defense; translation 'leave me out of this'. "Oh you're great help." The girl muttered as Alex gave her a thumbs up while Miko went to help comfort her friend.

"You did really well Hono-chan." Miko stated. "You just had a bad match up."

"Yeah but… I thought I could beat him~" Honoka whined. Suddenly a look of determination crossed her face as she stood upright. "I have to train more."

"Hey don't go working your fingers on the controls till they're ready to fall off." Miko stated as Alex walked up to the trio.

"She trains that hard?"

"Five hundred matches." Rai stated as she sighed. "When she trains for Gunpla she does a total of five hundred matches a few days before."

"… is that healthy?" Alex just got a shrug as he looked at Rupture and smiled. "I'm pretty sure if you keep that up your fingers will get fat."

"They will not!" Alex just smiled at the look Honoka gave him, and started towards team Red Clover.

"Anyway, thanks for the match."

"Don't mention it." Lao stated as he shook Alex's extended hand and looked over to Miko. "I'll have to get a rematch one day Miko-san." Miko just looked at him, nodding her head as she smiled.

"Next time I'll beat you without any back up."

"Well see." Shirohoshi put her hands behind her head as she smiled. "We have to redeem ourselves, so you'd better watch out."

"We will." Rai stated as she looked at the girl.

"Ah, everyone's bonding~" Roshi stated as he picked up the remains of his Gunpla. "Well, while we're here, and most of our units are either broken or banged up, who's up for new parts?"

"Losing team treats?" Rai joked as Shirohoshi giggled.

"Don't get your hopes up." She told them as she looked at her Exia and ran her fingers over the remains. "You're buying your own parts."

"Yeah figured you say that." Rai stated as she looked at Miko and Honoka. "Well I can spare some minutes, you girls?"

"My parents will notice that my Burning Gudam has a hole in it otherwise so~" Honoka began as Miko nodded her head in agreement.

"Well that's two, Alex?"

"I'm good." He muttered as he held up Rupture. "Rupture didn't take any damage so I don't need parts yet." The two teams blinked in surprise, well save for Takashi who seemed to be grumbling something incoherent.

"Eh?"

"You didn't take any damage!?" Alex just raised a free hand to scratch his head.

"Yeah well…" The teen muttered as he put Rupture in his bag. "I'm heading to the cafe, you guys can come find me when you're done." Alex stated as he started walking off. "Oh; on that you want anything?"

"Nah I'm good."

"Ditto." He looked at the others as he just nodded his head and left the room.

"He always like that?" Lao muttered as he looked at the girls as they shrugged.

"Wouldn't know, he just came into town today." Miko stated as she crossed her arms. "Well… I guess it's alright, he's not being a dick after all."

"Yeah I guess that's important." Takashi muttered as he sighed. "I just wish I managed to land something against him." He shook his head. "Seriously, he dodged everything I threw at him."

"I'm curious on why he doesn't pop up on radar."

* * *

Gundam Cafe

The second floor of the Gundam Base housed the Cafe. That's where Alex decided to head for the moment. Taking a seat he stared at his EFSF Hamburger and took a bite. Teriyaki egg version, personally loved this kind. "Been a while since I had a real one though." He said with a smile before taking another bite. The ones he tried recreating back in the States never tasted as well as he would have liked, still he was getting closer to getting the taste right every time he made one. "I needed the real thing though." He muttered as he took another bite before stopping as he got a notice on his phone. Pulling it out his pocket the teen just read over the notice before making a noise.

_"Hey, you still up?"_

_'Amalea…'_ Alex thought as he smiled slightly. Well she did ask him to pick up when she called. "Surprisingly enough." He typed his response and waited, staring at his phone before returning to his burger. "Give it a minute, I'm sure she'll get to me." He was ready to take another bite as his phone went off. "What I tell ya." He muttered as he looked at his phone again.

_"You near a tv?"_

Technically yes, the cafe had a giant monitor setup to show what was going on in the world.

_"You need to see this."_

"What is it?" Alex muttered as he looked at the tv and started eating. "What could be so important that I need to watch tv at this hour?"

_"Several promising Gunpla Teams have unexpectedly withdrawn from the candidate brackets for the upcoming Gunpla World Tournament. Claims indicate that the reason for their withdrawal are linked to the dark organization known as the GM Mafia, who have been responsible for attacking Gunpla fighters all over the world. These attacks come just a week after Team Meister captain, Meito, withdrew from their position and retired from Gunpla Battles. People are beginning to think that the Meito's unexpected retirement was actually a cover up to hide the fact that they were attacked by the GM Mafia themselves."_

The message carried on though Alex tuned most of it out. He heard what he needed to hear. Seven more teams have withdrawn from the Gunpla Circuits. How many did that make now? Alex just took a bite of his food and made a noise. It had been steady over the years to be honest, Gunpla fighters unexpectedly dropping out of tournaments. Supposedly this GM Mafia was responsible. Alex made a noise. "Underworld-type fighters" as the news called them, guessed they were like hitmen. Did a job, got paid for it.

Alex had never ran into them personally, but then again that was probably for the best. Gunpla orientated or not, he was not interested in dealing with the mafia.

That said he typed a response across his phone as he took a breath. "Crazy stuff."

_"Yeah. I'd be careful since you're in Japan right now."_

"Why?"

_"I looked it up on the web a few hours ago. Apparently the head of the Gunpla Mafia was situated in Tokyo around 9 years ago."_

"Was it now?"

_"Yeah, their leader was caught here, there was something about him being the brother of the former Chairman of the PPSE."_

"Huh, I didn't know that." Alex muttered as he typed something up. "Still thanks for the heads up, I'll be careful." He muttered as he added something to the text. "What about you guys though? You're the ones going pro."

_"We're fine, so far. I'll let you know if something happens."_

"Be careful alright." With that he returned to his burger, eating in silence as he saw someone sit next to him.

"Hey." Miko stated as she stole one of his fries.

"Sup. You patch up Rose Wing already?"

"Mostly." Miko stated as she took another fry. "I need to finish it later, but also grabbed a Rozen Zulu while I was at it."

"Something you need from the Zulu?"

"Psycho Jammers." Miko stated. "I hate things like Fangs, the Jammers can stop them from being used against me."

"Ah~" Was all Alex said as he continued eating." I figured you would have grabbed the back binders for cosmetics."

"That too." Miko stated as she took another fry. "I think it brings the look together."

"We've all got our taste in aesthetics." Alex stated as he started eating his fries.

"Hey…" Miko began. "Thanks."

"For what?

"Without a fourth member we would have been at a disadvantage tonight." Miko said simply. "So, thanks for helping out last minute."

"Don't mention it." Alex stated as he took a fry. "I was just happy to let Rupture get some time out."

"Yeah I guess that makes sense." Miko stated as she fell silent. "By the way, how does it do that anyway? Not pop on radar I mean."

"Hyper Jammers." Alex stated." Alex stated as he pulled Rupture out again. "I took em from one of my Deathscythe EW models."

"Hm, how'd you attach them to the wings?" Alex just flipped the unit around.

"Plastic cement."

"Ah, smart."

"Thanks." Alex stated as he ran his finger over the inner wing extensions. "If I could, I'd hide them on the outside of the wing extensions and just have them "flip out" when in use to sort of turn it on and off, but I'm not that good at this yet." Alex stated with a shrug.

"Not bad." Alex just nodded his head as he put Rupture back in his bag.

"While we're talking about Gunpla though, that rose petal effect your unit has; how'd you do that?"

"Three months of trial and error." Miko admitted with a sigh. "You heard of the Build Burning Gundam right."

"Yeah I've seen it on a few old vids, it spurts flames somehow." Miko chuckled lightly.

"Yeah… anyway that's actually what inspired me to try creating the petal effect. Personally, I couldn't get it right; building a whole system from scratch is beyond me, but eventually I got cheap and found I could change how Mirage Colloid particles look as exhaust." Alex made a noise as he watched Miko take another fry.

"Can the Rose Wing still turn invisible?" Miko shook her head.

"Think of it like exhaust from GN Particles, just it's styled to look a certain way." Miko stated. "Besides, I don't want Rose Wing to turn invisible; doesn't suit me." She took another fry. "I like people seeing me when I shoot them down."

"I like blitzing everything that gets in my way." The two shared a light smile as Alex finished his last fry. "Anyway I don't know about you, I think we should head back now. It's already late and I gotta adjust to incoming jet lag." The teen admitted as Miko just sighed.

"I guess you have a point."

"Will your friends be safe getting home on their own?"

"Yeah, Honoka lives in the same direction as Rai, so they'll be together." Miko made a noise. "And anyone who plans on attacking Honoka is going to regret it." Alex just thought back to the broadcast earlier.

"You sure?"

"They'll be fine." She paused. "I trust them." Alex just stared at Miko for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

"Alright, let's head back then." He paused. "Home I mean, not to see your friends off."

"Sure, it'll get you out of having Honoka wanting to look at your hands again."

"Yeah~ why exactly did she do that in the first place?"

"That's a weird story. I don't want to talk about it." Miko stated as she pressed a finger in her ear and started walking off. "Well let's go."

"Right behind you."


	7. Chapter 6: Late Night Writings

He hated jet lag.

Only thing he hated more than jet lag though was when his brain was too wired to sleep. Exhausted out our mind, but just couldn't seem to shut down at the moment. Making a noise Alex found himself turning over in bed, his attention shifting to the ceiling and then to Rupture as he took a breath. "Still early isn't it?" He asked, not expecting a response. Getting back into the house had been surprisingly easy. Miko knew her stuff, they got home a few hours ago, said their good-nights and turned in, well Alex tried to anyway. No matter how much he tried, sleep wasn't coming to him. "Damn it, I hate nights like this." Alex muttered as he sat up and walked over to his window before staring out at it. Moon was still up. "Well least I get great moonlight from here." Alex thought as he crossed his arms over the railing and stared outward. "Still got a few hours before the sun comes up." He muttered before looking back to his laptop and made an unreadable expression. "Might as well." He muttered before heading over to his laptop and turned it on. Soon as he logged in he opened a file, seemed to think for a moment before nodding his head.

* * *

**Mobile Suit Gundam Orphans of the Dynasty War**

_He couldn't sleep._

_Fayt just made a noise as he stared skyward, his attention focused on the roof of the ceiling that he'd been given. It was… plain. Course it was plain, this room wasn't decorated or anything, it was just a room meant for two, with a sink to wash your face and nothing more. Didn't even have a window._

_Still that didn't bother him._

_It didn't even bother him that the bed felt stiff._

_No, his mind was still wandering to a few days ago. The battle, his mother's ship, his father's mobile suit. He lost them both in just a few short hours, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it._

_"No, I could have done something." Fayt muttered as he looked to the side of his bed, his attention shifting to the hexagonal tablet that was resting at it's edge. Without a word he picked it up. Shuffling through several files on it as he bit his lips. "If only you were here…" He muttered as he clenched a fist. Raising a hand he punched the nearest wall, only to withdraw his hand as he suddenly grabbed his sore hand. "Yeah, yeah; that was stupid…" Fayt muttered as he got to his feet and rubbed his hand. Putting hit tablet in his pocket he left the room and started walking off._

_The Scabbard, that was what Rosa called the ship when she showed him to his living quarters. It was a refitted Mobile Suit Carrier, modified to act as a ship complete with hanger, control room, rest area and of course washroom. It's size was large enough for three Mobile Suits, and the systems could be manually controlled by a crew of four. From what he understood, it was probably for stand-alone operations; so no support, no backup._

_Fayt just dragged himself through the halls, not really sure where he was going or why he was going in that general direction. Wasn't sure where he wanted to be in the first place. Far as he was concerned he was just doing a lap around the hip, trying to clear his head before trying to turn in again._

_"Oh hey." Hearing a voice Fayt snapped out of his thoughts as he looked ahead, his attention focusing on Rosa as she sat on the hallway floor, her attention turned away from the window to address him. She seemed surprised to see him for a moment, though that look quickly disappeared as it was replaced with exhausted strength._

_"Hey." Fayt muttered as he scratched his head and looked at the other person before walking forward. "What are you doing out here?"_

_"I could ask you the same thing." Rosa admitted as she turned towards the stars outside. "You should be getting some more rest. You look tired."_

_"I could say the same about you." Fayt got a small smile and a nod._

_"Yeah I guess you're right." Sitting next to the young woman Fayt just turned his attention to the outside world. "I couldn't sleep."_

_"Me too." The two fell silent as they watched the sky for a moment._

_"It's peaceful isn't it?" Rosa asked as Fayt nodded his head. "It's just a shame… that it really isn't." She muttered. "This silence hides another bloody war, possibly the last one we'll ever have in the history of mankind."_

_"In its own way I hope your right." Fayt admitted as he leaned back. "I just hope we win in the end." He muttered as Rosa nodded her head. "We're going to put an end to this war."_

_"That's our mission." Rosa muttered as she took a breath. "No matter the cost."_

_"No matter the cost." Fayt repeated as Rosa sighed. "Do you think there are others still out here?" Rosa turned to Fayt. "Other Meisters?" She actually paused at that. Not sure how to answer she just stared back outside._

_Meister; that word meant something to both of them. The term originated from another place and another time. They were individuals chosen by a group called Celestial Being to pilot highly advanced Mobile Suits units. While Rosa and Fayt weren't tied to Celestial Being, their forebears created the Meister Program with similar intent; offering highly classified military training, not to mention one of the most advanced mobile suits their age could ever come up with._

_"I hope so." Rosa stated as she pulled herself into her knees. "If not, it's just us."_

_"What do you mean?" Fayt asked as he looked to Rosa. "How many Meisters are on this ship?_

_"Just us." Rosa repeated after a while as Fayt took a moment to let the words sink in._

_"Just… just us two?" Fayt whispered as Rosa stayed silent._

_"I checked the database." She began. "Out of everyone that made it onto the Scabbard, only you and I are registered as Meister candidates."_

_"That can't be right." Fayt muttered with a frown. "The Sanc Kingdom housed at least 20 trained candidates, are you saying we're the only two that made it here?" Rosa didn't say anything, just resting her head on her knees before nodding._

_"Most of them died during the attack." She stated weakly. "I heard the radio chatter; most of them joined in the fighting to bolster our numbers and give the rest time to get away." She admitted. "We're the only two on this ship, but I saw three trying to get away before us so…" She didn't finish that sentence. As much as she wanted to, she didn't want to give him any form of false hope._

_"There's still a chance we're not alone." Fayt muttered as he clenched his fists. "There's more, we can find them."_

_"No." Rosa muttered as she turned to Fayt. "We're not going to look for them."_

_"And why the hell not?" He bit. "Those are our people out there and -"_

_"I know." Rosa stated firmly, the first time he'd ever heard her talk that way. "But we don't nearly have the supplies we need to do that, and this ship isn't just a mobile suit carrier; it's a lifeboat." She paused as she stared at Fayt, her expression softened as she took a breath. "We may be the only two Meisters on board, but we have to keep everyone else on board alive until we find a safe place for them." Fayt just frowned, grunting before he took a much needed breath to calm down._

_"Where are we going?"_

_"The Nexus." Rosa stated as she reached over and put a hand on Fayt' s shoulder. "That's where all of us are going. If there are still other Scabbard ships still out there, that's where they're heading; and that's where we'll regroup." She told him as he grunted getting to his feet as he let her hand slide down his arm, stopping only when she grabbed his hand. "Fayt…"_

_"How… how many people are on the ship?"_

_"15, not including you and me."_

_"That so." Fayt muttered as he pulled his hand away and started walking. Stopping only when he looked outside and made a tsking noise. He didn't do anything for a minute balling his fists before looking back at Rosa. "I'm gonna try getting some rest now." He muttered as Rosa nodded. "No idea how long this calm will last."_

_"Good idea I'll-"Rosa stopped as the Scabbard's alarm went off. Forcing the ship to flash a bright red color as she snapped her head up._

_"What the -"_

_"It's the Eldora Army." Both teens got to their feet as Rosa pulled out her tablet and brought up a screen. "They've found us." Fayt stared at the screen for a moment as he bit his lips, watching as hundreds of blips were popping up on the screen and marching towards their location. "With this many even the Optical Camouflage would be useless."_

_"So we cut a path through them." Fayt declared as Rosa nodded her head as she looked at him._

_"We don't have much of a choice, do we?"_

* * *

"Alex~ Alex it's morning." Hearing his father's voice Alex looked up from his laptop as he turned towards the door. A minute later though he looked back to his window, seeing that it was indeed morning. He turned to his computer looking at the time before sighing to himself.

"Better save this, and come back to it later." Alex muttered as he did just that, closing his laptop and started gathering some clothes for the day. "Time to start the day." Alex muttered as he started walking down the hall and stopped. "I have no idea where the restroom is."

"Well, you're heading in the right direction." Jumping slightly Alex turned to find Anya standing behind him, a gentle smile on her face as she looked down at him. "Morning Alex, did you sleep well?"

"Not really." Alex admitted as Anya gave him a curious look.

"Really, I thought jet lag would have put you straight to sleep."

"You're not the only one." Alex muttered as he adjusted the clothes in his arm as he yawned. "Give it a bit, I'll probably take a nap later."

"I see." Anya stated. "Anyway I should get started on breakfast."

"You're not leaving it to my dad?" Anya giggled slightly.

"It's my turn to cook." Alex raised an eyebrow.

_'They take turns?'_ Alex thought for a moment. _'Usually dad just cooks when I'm here.'_ He admitted to himself before shaking his head. "Well I guess I should get washed up." He pointed in the direction that was behind him as Anya looked down the hall. "You said the bathroom's this way, right?"

"First floor, straight down the hall and towards the back."

"Thanks." Alex stated as he turned on his heels and started walking. He followed her instructions to the letter as Anya started working in the kitchen.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something…" Anya muttered as she cracked an egg before starting to fry it. "Oh dear - Alex! Alex, wait, don't open that door just yet!" She began as she made her way down the hall only to find Alex standing before an open door. Frozen as he stared at something on the other side. "Uh oh."

"Miko - Oh shit!"


	8. Chapter 7: Hitting the Mall

Anya just smiled as she looked at the two teens sitting across from her, one rubbing his cheek while the other was blushing an adorable shade of pink. "Now." She began. She looked to Alex. "Is there something you want to say Alex?"

"She punched me in the face." Alex muttered.

"You walked in on me while I was changing."

"You punched me in the face!"

"You walked in on me while I was changing!" Miko shouted back as the two teens glared at each other. "Who even does that!?"

"It was an accident!"

"You were staring!"

"I was not!"

_"Detarame!_"

"Miko, language." Anya stated as she drank a bit of tea as Richard came downstairs fixing his tie, and staring at his family.

"… what I miss?"

"Alex walked in on Miko in the shower." Anya stated calmly as Richard looked at her and then their children.

"Did she put the sign on the door?"

"Yes! And he still walked in!"

"I didn't see a damn sign!" Alex countered as his father sat across from him and next to Anya. Almost on command Amya leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as she stared at the younger youths across from them. "Seriously, what sign?"

"We ended up getting a little sign to let everyone know when the bathroom is occupied." Richard stated as Miko glared at her Alex. "I should… have warned you about that before you came in yesterday."

"Yeah, maybe ya should of." Alex muttered as he continued rubbing his cheek._ 'Give Miko one thing; got a hell of a right hook.'_

"See it was just an accident." Anya stated as she looked at the two. "Now both of you, apologize."

"I feel like I'm in a damn anime right now." Alex muttered as he looked at Miko. "I'm… sorry for walking in on you." He grumbled as Miko just turned elsewhere and crossed her arms.

"I'm not apologizing." Miko stated as Alex's eye twitched.

"Miko~"

"I'm not going to apologize for punching the boy that walked in on me while I was getting undressed." She stated with a sense of finality as she looked back to Alex and glared.

"Miko…"

"Miko." Anya narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the teen. _Both_ of them seemed to pale. "Apologize."

"I'm sorry!" Miko shot out as Anya went back to smiling and the two teens relaxed.

"There we go, everything is forgiven now, right Alex?"

"Yep." Alex gulped as Anya clapped her hands together and he shot Miko a look. _'The heck was that!?'_

_'Don't ask.'_

"Now then, since we're all here, let's eat! Breakfast is getting cold." Both teens just nodded in agreement before looking at the spread, and started eating.

"Alex." Richard began as he looked at his son. "Do you have any plans for the day?"

"Not really." Was Alex's immediate response as he continued eating. He took care of what he needed last night thanks to Miko, so he didn't really "need" to go looking for a Gunpla battle today. Still given his luck he'd probably find one anyway. "Knowing me I'll probably just hit the mall up." Alex admitted as Miko nodded in agreement.

"That's where I'm headed."

"Then that's where we're headed." Anya stated as she drew looks from the pair. "When we found out Alex was coming in this week we ended up taking a few days off. That way we can get some time together before school starts next week." Richard nodded as Alex stared at the two for a moment.

"Oh… ok." Alex stated as he went back to eating. 'Be polite Alex, be polite.' He thought before drifting into his thoughts. It wasn't that he had anything spending time with the pair, it was more he was just used to his privacy. Besides he normally didn't really get a chance to spend time with his old man. "That'll be…" 'Something.' Alex trailed off before glancing at Miko. She looked about as interested in this as he was: not so much. 'But hey, if we're here, might as well try getting some "family time" in.' Alex told himself as he went back to eating.

* * *

Some Time Later

Mall

Ever heard the phrase time flies when having fun?

This wasn't one of those moments.

Alex was bored out of his skull, not to mention tired. That was the problem with not sleeping last night. He was running on fumes. "I blame Miko."

"You blame Miko for what?" Miko grumbled as she looked at him and crossed her arms. In a clothing store Anya was busy dragging her husband around ahead of them.

"I blame you for me being tired." Alex said simply as he looked at the couple.

"What did I do?"

"You made me stay up late." Alex stated as he put his hands in his pocket. "You knew I'd be having jet lag if I didn't sleep last night."

"Hey I didn't force you into _anything_." Miko stated as she poked her counterpart. "You knew _exactly_ what you were getting into last night."

"I knew I'd have a good time." Alex admitted. "And you didn't disappoint."

"You didn't either."

"I try not to."

"Is that so?" Miko stated as she shot Alex a look. "Wanna do it again?"

"Duh~" Alex stated as he looked elsewhere. "I'm always up for another round."

"Just like a boy." Alex rolled his eyes and jabbed her in the side. She just nudged him back, a faint light smile on her face as he returned it. It disappeared a moment later as he looked elsewhere and found himself looking at a few others who were staring at him and Miko, whispering to themselves.

"What?" He didn't get a response as they started walking away, children being pulled away from the sight as Miko raised an eyebrow. She looked at the disappearing crowd for a moment before starting to think. She flushed a nice shade of pink before looking back at Alex and socked him in the shoulder. "Ow, what?"

"_Baka_, think about what we just said, out loud." She palmed her face as Alex rubbed his shoulder and started to think.

"Why would…" He fell silent, looking at her for a moment as he made a noise. "Oh." He paused. "Oh~"

"Yeah."

"They think?"

"Yeah."

"Gross."

"Yeah." The pair fell silent as she looked over to their parents.

"This shirt is perfect!" Anya's voice called out as she held up a shirt. Richard just stared at it, their kids looking at it as well as they raised an eyebrow.

"It's a bit big isn't it?"

"It's the perfect size." Anya stated as she stared at the plain white shirt and seemed to test its stretchiness. 'This is the perfect size for a potential "get along" shirt.' Anya thought as her eyes shot at the two teens.

"Why is she looking at us like that?"

"I'm more concerned why her eyes are actually gleaming." Miko stated as she looked at her mom.

"You don't think she's going to wear that around the house do you?" Alex saw Miko shiver.

"I hope not." The teen muttered as she looked elsewhere. "I get enough of her wearing your dad's shirts around the house." Alex groaned.

"Would that be Honeymoon fever, or newlyweds fever?"

"I wanna say the latter." Miko muttered as she uncrossed her arms and put them on her hips, while Alex moved his to his hoodie. "On that I have sleeping pills if you need them."

"Why?" Alex looked back to her as she groaned.

"Lets just say they're really taking their time getting out the newlywed phase."

"… Ok?" Alex went silent as Miko looked at him. "Oh… oh~" He caught a look of discomfort on his face as he suddenly looked at the two adults, watching them talk and smile. "That's so gross, how often do they keep you up?"

"I have pills, take a guess." Miko shivered as Alex made another face. "So yeah, you'll either want something to help you sleep or you'll need to leave the house for an hour or two."

"I'll keep that in mind." Alex grumbled before yawning. "Although… I don't think I'll need them tonight. Jetlag and all that."

"Suite yourself." Miko stated as she looked at the pair smile before making a few purchases. "Hey… Alex." The girl paused. "Can I be real with you real quick?"

"Is there any other way to be?"

"I can be fake."

"Fair." Alex shrugged as he watched Anya wave at them and start walking over. "You be real with me, I'll be real with you."

"I—"

"Miko!" Someone hugged the girl from behind as she stumbled for a moment

"W-wow! Hono-chan?" Miko looked back as she saw the girl grinning at her.

"_Ohayō_~" Honoka just continued to grin as she hugged Miko. "I thought I saw you earlier, seems I was right." Miko pried Honoka off of her, her hand pushing at the side of her face as she grunted in effort. "Alex it's good to see you too."

"_Ohayō._" Alex muttered as he looked at the pair. "How's it going?"

"No complaints." Honoka stated as she looked at him. "Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"How could I not?" Alex asked. "I come to Japan; the first thing I do is get a match in, meet cute girls and get some writing in." He admitted as Honoka flushed a bit. "I call that an absolute win."

"Really?" Miko stated as she looked at her counterpart. "I can't believe you just said that."

"What; an absolute win?"

"No, that you said my friends were cute." She stated as she pointed at Honoka. "This one isn't cute at all."

"Hey!" Alex just laughed as Honoka puffed her cheeks out and kicked Miko in the shin. "I am cute!"

"Don't see it." Miko got a light punch in her side as Honoka continued to pout before latching onto Alex.

"Hey!"

"Alex~ Miko's being mean to me!"

What do you want me to do about it? Also personal space." Alex muttered but refused to do anything to stop her.

"Comfort me~" Alex looked elsewhere before turning to Miko.

"Get her off."

"You're problem now."

"God you're cold." Alex paused. "Sorry, _kami_ you're cold."

"Only most of the time." Miko turned her attention focusing on Rai as the girl smiled. "Other times she's just like a puppy." Miko just narrowed her eyes as she looked at her friend.

"I do not get like a puppy."

"Ohayō~ Rai-chan, Hono-chan." Anya called out as she and Richard walked up to the four. "How are you two today?"

"Miko-chan's being mean to me~" Honoka stated as she suddenly wrapped herself around Anya. "And Alex-kun won't comfort me."

"_Ara Ara._ That's not very nice." She looked at the teens as she wagged her finger. "Alex-kun you should always comfort a girl when she's hurt."

"Yeah~ I watched *more* then enough anime to know how that usually turns out." Alex stated as Miko nodded in approval. "And I am not trying to unlock my latent Harem Protagonist skill."

"Good for you." Miko stated as Rai snickered.

"Real life doesn't work that way." Richard said with a light smile. "Many men wish it did, but it doesn't."

"Better safe than sorry." Alex remarked. "So." He turned to Rai. "What brings you to the mall?"

"Everyone goes to the mall." Rai remarked as Alex shrugged.

"Fair, but that doesn't answer my question." Alex stated. "What brings you here today?" Alex asked. "Just hanging out, or doing some shopping?"

"Bit of both." Rai admitted as she looked at the family, and Honoka who was getting comforting headpats from Anya. "I wasn't expecting to see all of you here though. I thought your parents would be working today."

"Richard and I took a few days off so we could spend time with Alex and Miko." Anya stated. "We get one week before the next semester and I wanted us to get as much time in as we could."

"Smart." Rai said with a smile. "Anyway I'll leave you to it, I wouldn't want to interrupt." Rai stated as she walked up to Anya and started making an effort to pull Honoka off her. "Hono-chan… come on, come on."

"No~ I'm being comforted~" Richard just looked at the two girls and his wife as he smiled slightly.

"You can join us if you want." He stated. "We can all spend the day together." Alex looked to Honoka still trying to hold on to Anya, who was now actually trying to get her personal space back.

"Please don't." Miko and Alex said together as they continued staring at Honoka.

"There's only so much Hono-chan I can handle in a day." Miko stated as Rai just kept pulling.

"Well if you put it that way." Rai grunted. "I'd be more than happy to join you guys."

"Me too!" Honoka jumped, letting go of Anya as Rai fell on her butt. "We get to spend the day together!"

"… joy." Alex and Miko said together as they looked at one another.

"This is going to be a long day isn't it?" Miko just scratched her head and started walking off, the others following as Alex looked to his dad. "I hate you so much right now." Richard actually flinched, almost as if the words were an actual blow as Alex stopped. Realizing what he said Alex just put his hands in his hoodie as he coughed, trying to play it off as something casual. "I mean, you know you just tilted the odds in their favor right?" Alex looked back at his old man. "We're outnumbered, and any chance of us really getting a say in where we go while we're here might as well have gone out the window." Richard just listened as Alex scratched his head.

"Yeah I guess you have a point." Richard admitted as he put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "But look at them — look at Miko; Spending time with her friends actually made her day."

"I guess so." Alex said after a while as he started walking, stepping out of his father's hand as he started following after the girls. "Just know that if they go crazy shopping, I'm not carrying any bags." That got Richard to smile a bit as he followed his son.

"_Wakarimasu._"

* * *

Later

Alex just looked at his father as he scratched his head; his attention focused on the number of bags that were being carried. Too many, far too many or a single person to carry on their own, and it looked like Honoka was about to go for another shopping spot as the others followed. "This is why I don't shop with women."

"It's not all that bad." Richard stated as he adjusted the bags. "You get to figure out what they like." He released a chuckle. "That's especially good for birthdays and holidays."

"Hm." Alex made a noise as he crossed his arms. A silence passed between the two as they watched the ladies start to browse as they waited and pulled out his cellphone, seeming to check something as his dad glanced at it. He blinked in surprise as he stared at the object. "Is that the new Samsung?"

Hm? Yeah. Galaxy Note 20." In a protective military grade case at that.

"How'd your mother afford that?"

"She didn't." Alex stated as he started to drift away. His thoughts turned to Amalea in the rain. "It was a gift from a friend." Alex muttered as he took a breath. "A goodbye present."

"I see." Richard stated as he seemed to stare at his son. "You'll see them again you know. After December you'll—"

"Be back in America, I know." Alex stated in a neutral tone as he looked at his wallpaper. "But I… won't be seeing them when I get back." Alex admitted to his father's confusion.

"Don't you want to see them?"

"Yes and no." Alex muttered as he stared at the image a bit longer before putting his phone away. "Mostly… no, cause I know who'll be with them." Alex admitted in that same neutral tone.

"Alex—"

"I don't want to talk about it." Alex stated as he saw the ladies starting to walk out. "Find what you wanted?"

"Yeah." Miko stated as she smiled.

"I'm almost afraid to ask about what you bought." Alex stated as he got a look from Rai.

"Trust me you'd think it's gross."

"And that's all I need to know." Alex stated as Anya looked over to the food court.

"Who's up for something to eat?"

"Me!" Honoka raised a hand as she beamed and Miko crossed her arms.

"Course you are." Her stomach growled audibly as Miko flushed crimson.

"What a coincidence, so are you." Rai got a jab in her side as she chuckled slightly.

"Well, then, let's eat." Richard stated as he started walking towards the food court. Alex and the others just followed as he glanced at a store before looking away.

Richard paid for all their meals, although it was with some protest from Anya. She wanted to treat the girls today, but Richard won out in the end. Alex... didn't really care, so long as he got some food in his belly he was fine with whomever paid. Taking a seat beside everyone Alex just made a noise as he started eating.

"_Itadakimasu_~"

"_Itadakimasu_." Their lunch consisted of soba noodles. Honoka made a noise as she started to eat and Miko just sighed in relief. Rai, Rai made a noise Alex wasn't expecting. It wasn't sexy or disgusting, but it was one he recognized.

"Rai."

"Hai?"

"Did you just purr?"

"No." Rai said quickly as she focused on eating.

'_She totally purred. Rai purrs like a cat_.' Alex thought as he used his chopsticks to pull the egg from his bowl and wolfed it down.

"What do you think, tasty right? Anya asked as she looked over to Alex and stopped eating for a moment.

"It's pretty good."Alex stated as Anya beamed and returned to eating. _'It's not great, but it's not bad either.'_ Alex thought as he glanced at everyone else. _'Still, it's just nice to eat with everyone...'_ He slurped his noodles as he turned his attention elsewhere. _'To bad it never lasts.'_


	9. Chapter 8: Returning Home

His phone was going off. He really didn't want to pick it up; rather he felt like just letting it go to voicemail. "Sorry guys, I should take this." Alex told the others as they looked back at him, they were about to head into another store. "I'll be in, in a bit."

"Alright." Miko stated as Honoka dragged her into the store as the others followed.

"Hello?"

_"Hi sweetheart."_

"Hey mom." Alex stated as he leaned against the wall and watched the others disappear. "What's up?"

_"You were supposed to call me when you got Japan yesterday."_

"Right, sorry." Alex muttered as he started thinking back. "I forgot, had some things to do, you know unpacking and everything." He stated as he heard his mom make a noise over the phone.

_"Well, how are things, Are you getting along with your dad?"_

"Well we're not arguing or fighting if that's what you're asking." Alex remarked.

_"Well? How are things?"_

"Fine so far, he was at the airport a bit before I landed. So we just had to get my luggage and we head to his place."

_"I see… how is your father?"_

"He's… fine?" He didn't intend to make it sound like a question as he glanced into the store. "He remarried."

_"Oh."_

His mom fell silent for a moment.

"Good for him, do you know when the wedding was?"

"April." Was Alex's response.

_"I see."_

She paused for a moment.

_"Well it has been 5 years since the divorce, I shouldn't be surprised he finally found someone again."_

"Yeah." Alex grumbled as he coughed into his sleeve.

_"How are you holding up?"_

"I'm holding it together." He shrugged. "I've only been here for a day and jet lag is setting in, but I'm good." Alex paused for a moment. "How are you holding up?"

_"I'm doing well. Just taking a break from work. Are you doing anything today?"_

"I'm at the mall with dad's new family and their daughters friends."

_"Alex, you make it sound like your not part of the family."_

"Mom, it's a whole new dynamic I gotta adjust to, and not going to lie; it's not one I'm looking forward to." Alex admitted before making a noise.

_"Why not?"_

"What's the point?" Alex asked as he turned his attention elsewhere. "I'm only gonna be here for every other six months." Alex reminded his mother. "No point in getting used to them just to have to leave again."

_"Alex…"_

His mother began.

_"You can't use that as an excuse to keep a wall up. It's alright to get close to people. I mean you had no trouble getting close to Amalea and Raphael before —"_

"Yeah and things turned out just _great_." Alex bit before taking a breath. "Damn it, sorry I guess I'm still bitter about things."

_"It is not their fault you know."_

"It's not." Alex admitted. "It's mine." Alex fell silent as he seemed to drift away. "They made their choice, I made mine." Alex admitted before trying to play it off with a nonchalant shrug. "They wanted to move forward, I didn't."

_"Do you still plan on keeping in touch with them?"_

"Yeah, mainly Amalea, and probably only by text." Alex admitted. "I'd probably get them in trouble if I called."

_"Is that so?"_

Alex nodded subconsciously. "Yeah."

_"... You know you might be able to see them before the year is up."_

"Maybe." Alex turned his attention towards the others as they started to step out of the store. "Part of me just doesn't want to see them."Alex admitted as he sighed. "Anyway I should go, looks like the others are ready to move to another store."

_"Alright sweetheart, I'll talk to you later. Tell your dad I said hi."_

"Will do."

_"Love you Alex."_

"Love you too." With that Alex hung up and put his phone in his pocket.

"Who was that?" Richard asked as he came out carrying another bag and seemed to be having trouble adjusting to the extra weight.

"Mom." Alex stated as he looked at his dad. "She says hi."

"Oh, how is she doing?" Alex gave Anya a light shrug.

"Good hopefully, she called because she was taking a break from work and wanted to check in." Alex admitted.

"Is she pretty?" Honoka asked as Alex looked at the girl.

"The words "my mom" and "pretty" aren't usually something I think about putting in the same sentence."

"Understandable." Anya stated as she turned to Richard smiling. "Well, is she pretty?"

_'I feel like answering that is a death flag.'_ Richard and Alex thought as Anya waited for a response.

"Are you worried she'll steal him away from you?" Alex asked as Anya suddenly hugged her husband.

"Maybe."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Richard stated with a faint smile before pecking his wife's forehead. "Well, shall we finish our shopping."

"Hai~" Honoka cheered as Rai did a lighthearted fist pump. With that the girls started walking off, Anya following close behind as Richard sighed in relief.

"Thanks for the save."

"Trust me I wasn't trying to save you." Alex admitted as his father released a weak smile.

"Of course you didn't." He adjusted the bags as Alex just held out a hand to his confusion. "Hm?"

"Pass me a few bags." Alex stated. "You look like you could use a spare hand."

"You don't have to help you know."

"I know." Alex stated before grabbing a few bags anyway. "But my hands are free." He admitted before walking off to catch up with the girls.

* * *

Some Time Later

Household

"That was way more tiring than I thought it would be." Alex muttered as he set a few bags on the floor and took a breath. He leaned back, stretching his back out before lifting up a few bags and brought them into the kitchen. "I swear, what all did you girls buy?"

"Food, clothes, cleaning essentials, female necessities." Miko stated as she watched Alex make a face.

"Forget I asked."

"And stuff for you."

"What do I need?" Alex asked with a grumble.

"New uniform!" Anya stated as she and Richard carried the rest of the bags upstairs. "And casual clothes."

"How does she know they'll fit?" Alex asked, looking as Miko. "I never went to get measured, for clothes."

"Mom has this strange "scanner" power." Miko stated. "She can tell a person's clothes size with just a glance.

"That's~"

"Weird?"

"I was gonna say creepy." The teen corrected as he got a weak smirk from Miko. "I mean that sounds cool in Anime but, real life? Creepy." The teen muttered as he looked in the direction Anya and his dad had gone. "So anyway, we got a minute, you want to talk?"

"About what?"

"You wanted to be real with me at the mall but we got distracted. Want to talk now?" Miko glanced at the direction both their parents had gone and seemed to think.

"Not here." The girl stated as she started unpacking the bags and putting the food up. "Later."

"Whatever you say." Alex shrugged as he started helping.

They worked in silence, unable to find any words to share with one another.

When they were done Miko stretched, smiling as she finished before staring off in the distance. She looked back to Alex, her attention focused on the fact that he had retreated to working on his laptop. "You know school doesn't start until next week." She remarked before pulling out some soda from the fridge. "What are you working on?"

"Fanfic."

"You write fanfics?" Miko asked as she looked at Alex and took a drink.

"Well I try." Alex admitted as Miko walked over.

"What series?"

"Gundam." She dropped next to him and settled in and released a noise.

"You battle and write stories about Gundam." Her smile was filled with humor.

"What, you find that funny?"

"Not at all. You know how many builders actually do that, and self-insert their own Gundam into one of the universes?" She stated. "You're not the first."

"I guess you got a point." Alex admitted as he reviewed his writing and started doing a few corrections.

"So, what universe are you putting the Rupture into?"

"Custom universe." Alex stated as he leaned back on the couch. "Trying to make my own, using a fusion of other sources."

"Ah~" Miko muttered as she stared at the screen for a moment and took a drink. When she was done she pointed at it. "Mind?"

"Knock yourself out." Alex passed Miko his laptop as she set her soda can down.

"Let's see what you got." She went silent as she started to read, and as she read Alex seemed to just wait, his eyes closed as he tried thinking of what else to add. In the meantime Miko just continued reading, checking the highlighted notes as she did. "You're not sure if you want to keep the Eldora or change them to the Death Army?"

"The Eldora is essentially a streamlined Death Army anyway." The teen muttered. "But, I'm not sure if I want them to have that typical "evil" look, or keep them as they are to sort of give the image of a "holy" army." Alex stated.

"All villains think their path is just, right?" Miko muttered. "And an army that looks organized and holy definitely gives that impression that they're in the right." She remarked. "Still no one says that a sparkling army has to be the good guys."

"Right, that's what I was thinking." Alex admitted. "But I'm not sure if I want to keep it that way?"

"Will it change anything if you do?" The boy paused as he seemed to think for a moment.

"No, I guess not." Miko just made another noise as she returned to reading.

"Oh wow, Rosa and Fayt are the only two Meister available to protect a single ship?" Miko muttered before making a noise. "Overkill much?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"One Gundam pilot can wipe out at least a dozen mobile suits on their own." Miko remarked. "That's what I've learned from Amuro, Heero, Kira and every other Ace Gundam pilot in existence." She patted his laptop. "And your starting them off with two Meisters?"

Alex smirked. "I guess you got a point." He paused. "To be fair though, two gundam pilots against the world? I'd say the odds are about even."

"Maybe." She went back to reading. "So what's their mission anyway?"

"Survive."

"Well duh." Miko stated as she looked at Alex. "But what's their actual mission? The space colonies usually want independence or to subjugate the Earth, and Earth either has an iron fist on the colonies or are fighting to protect themselves. What's the end goal for these guys?"

"End the war, stop the Eldora, find a way to close off the Breach."

"Breach?" Miko raised an eyebrow. "What's the Breach?"

"I guess you could say it's a hole in the timelines. A point where all of them start to converge into one." Miko kept the eyebrow raised. "Ok um~ You ever play Gundam Dynasty Warriors?"

"When I'm at Rai's place."

"Think of this timeline I'm working on, to be the "What If" on if the Dynasty Warriors timeline was canon and permanent. Dozens upon dozens of pilots from different timelines meeting, technologies never meant to exist are suddenly thrown into the same universe."

"Kay~"

"The Breach is basically what forced them all to that point, pulled all the timelines into a singular point, where there is no new alternate timelines." Alex explained.

"Oh." Miko said with a bit of interest. "So Dynasty Warriors is the "end timeline"." She got a nod. "But Dynasty Warriors tends to end on a loosely good note."

"Yeah well Orphans of the Dynasty War take place after the… I guess "Bad End" of Dynasty Warriors; after a whole century the war is still going on,and the fight still isn't over. And this fight isn't for independence but to prevent the total annihilation of the human race as a whole."

"Okay." Miko muttered as she seemed to think. "And the mobile suits?"

"They're made from a mix of various timelines, crossing technology and data to create improvements."

"Like how we create custom Gunpla from crossing over parts from different continuities."

"Bingo." Alex stated. "Thing is I don't have a lot of custom Gunpla to work with, so~ I'm stuck at the first fight."

"Pity." Miko muttered. "You would need a second for Rosa to pilot, let alone any other Meisters that pop up later." The girl muttered as she seemed to think. "This sounds interesting too, shame you don't have any others to work with." the girl voiced her opinion as she seemed to think. "… hey, what if you…" Miko went silent. 'Never mind."

"What?"

"It's silly."

"Silly I'm going to start laughing, or silly stupid?"

"Probably both." Miko muttered as she looked up.

"I'll be the judge of that." Alex muttered as Miko passed him his laptop back.

"Well~ what if you turned it into a game?"

"I'm not that good." Alex stated. "And I don't see how that can help me."

"I mean, like a YouTube campaign with others."

"Huh?" Miko rolled her eyes.

"You know how people do YouTube videos and podcasts of, like, tabletop games?" Miko stated. "Do that, get people involved, basically create a Gundam Dynasty Warriors campaign for a bunch of others to be part of."

"I doubt anyone would be interested in that."

"Everyone likes Gundam, everyone likes customizing Gunpla and pitting them against one another." Both Alex and Miko jumped as they turned to see Anya behind them. "And they love Gunpla fanfics. If you end up turning a fanfic into a whole Gundam universe where people's Gunpla are the main forces. I think that would get quite a following."

"How long have you been standing there?" Miko squeaked as Anya made a peace sign.

"Three whole minutes." She stated as she lowered her hand. "But honestly I think it would be rather interesting to make a sort of YouTube video for a fan campaign on Gundam. It would be like having Gundam Build Divers."

"I-I guess." Alex muttered as he scratched his head. "I… wouldn't even know where to start with that though."

"Pretty sure there's a YouTube video for that." She stated as she started walking off. "There's a YouTube video for just about everything after all." Both teens just stayed silent as they watched her leave, before looking at each other.

"So~" Alex began.

"Yeah." Miko muttered. "Um~" She paused. "If you do… want to try doing that, or if you want to just continue writing it out or something, you want a hand?"

"Your offering to help write this fic?"

"Write it, bounce off ideas… heck, I'll even let you use Rose Wing." The girl muttered. "But."

"There's always a but."

"I decide everything that happens to Rose Wing and her pilot." Miko stated as she smiled. "Just tell me what I need to know beforehand, and I'll see how interesting it sounds." Alex just stared at his counterpart as she held her hand out for a moment. "Deal?"

"Deal." They shook on it., and Alex started to tell her his plan for Orphans of the Battle Century.

"… he's who's kid?"

* * *

**Alright, this wraps things up for now and Alex... he sort of blames himself for his team having to leave, and for good reason. I'm trying to go with the angle that Alex's main issue is commitment, as his mom mentioned earlier, his issue is getting close to people because he has to leave them, sure he always comes back, but so much can change in a few months you know. Still the end goal for "his" story is to move past that, and that might reflect Fayt's story as things progress for both of them.**

**Disregarding that, there's mention of trying to turn the Fayt's fanfic into a sort of fan-universe of sorts. That's nothing new. As mentioned earlier in the original version of Build Fighter: NEXT, the original incarnation was supposed to have Alex and his friends have it as sort of a Gunpla campaign using the Gunpla Battle Arenas. So yeah. Still whether I have him go back to doing that here in Japan, that's up for debate.**

**Well I'll see you later.**


	10. Chapter 9: Little Talks

"Alright." Alex muttered as he stretched, bringing his fingers over his head as he cracked them. Miko just watched him for a moment, her drink in her hand as she sat on his right. "So, lets see what I can pull off today." The teen began as he looked at his counterpart. "Still since you want to be part of this, anything you want me to change? Rosa's name; her appearance? Maybe her personality?" Miko just took a drink before staring off into space and seemed to think.

"Fubuki." She said after a while. "For now, just change her name to Fubuki." Alex nodded his head as he started typing something on his computer.

"Fubuki… that means "Snowstorm", right?"

"Yeah, but depending on the kanji it can mean "Snowfree"." Miko stated. "That's the one I want to use."

"Got it." Alex muttered as he finished the name change. "Anything else you want changed?" Miko stayed silent, seeming to think for a moment before raising a hand to say something, stopping and seemed to frown at herself. "Come on, what you got in mind?"

"The Eldora." Miko muttered as she frowned. "Are you sure you want to keep them?"

"Hey, I already made a note on potentially changing it to the regular Death Army from G Gundam. I'd use something custom but I'm not sure what to create." Alex shrugged as he seemed to lean back and think.

"Right…" Miko muttered as she crossed her arms in thought. "Next question do you want to introduce their Gundams right off the bat or?"

"What else could I introduce in them? They're already Meister's so, they should have their Gundams."

"Should." She repeated. "Not need." Alex just looked at her. "They were attacked recently, right? What if their Gundam units were destroyed in the attack, or taken or something."

"Then they'd have to use models with a lower combat parameters."

"Right." Miko agreed. "That would mean they'd be forced to fight an uphill battle, right? They wouldn't have the means for an easy win."

"True." Alex paused as he seemed to think. "Every series has their take on a Gundam or two unit shown right off the bat, its what gives even an inexperienced pilot their edge in facing dozens of enemies." He seemed to think. "But if they don't have that unit already on their side and it's an uphill battle for a while…"

"It sort of leaves the impression they_ earned_ their win more." Miko stated. "And then when they actually get their superior unit…"

"It can be used as a way of saying they earned their right to pilot a Gundam too, instead of just handing it to them right off the bat." Alex stayed silent before tilting his head to the side. Miko couldn't resist poking it. "Let them earn the right to pilot such high tech units, don't just hand it to them." He looked at Miko. "I like that idea, how'd you come up with it?"

"Berserk." Alex went silent, blinking as he stared at Miko. "What?"

"You read Berserk?" Miko nodded her head. "Wow… I gotta say, I wasn't expecting that." Alex admitted before narrowing his eyes. "Wait, please tell me you're not on Griff's side and "he did nothing wrong"."

"Don't make me hit you."

"I'll take that as a no." Alex sighed in relief. "Ok, but how did Berserk give you that idea?"

"Gut's backstory." Miko paused. "It's not just something glossed over at one point, showing only a glimpse of what set him on his path - it's a whole Arc in the story, you see how he started off, you saw the trials and hardships he had to go through, you saw him training, you saw the source of his anger… you saw him with a regular sword and how he got his hands on the Dragon Slayer." Miko stated. "It might just be me, but seeing him lift that weapon for the first time to show his transition for who he was with the Band of Hawks to the man that hunted the Apostles. I found that to be a very moving moment - a right of passage almost because the sword wasn't just handed to him at the beginning." She made a noise. "_Kuso_, the sword wasn't even meant for him to _begin_ with. It was a relic, and Godot gave him a completely _different_ sword to be used on his quest but it broke and Guts was forced to grab Dragon Slayer in storage." She paused. "Getting that sword, being able to wield it, it showed Guts was no longer an "ordinary man". And because you get to see the hardships that led to that point, you believe it."

"Moments like that, it sinks in how much the character has grown." Alex muttered in agreement. "I don't think many series actually do that anymore." Miko waved her hand in a "so-so" manner.

"It depends on how you look at things. Like…" She paused for a moment trying to find a comparison. "Ichigo from Bleach."

"You're gonna compare _Guts_ to _Ichigo_?" Alex looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah, yeah shut up." Miko grumbled. "You know how Ichigo just gets a fat zanpakuto in the beginning right? And after Byakuya breaks it he gets Zangetsu, which is another fat and oversized blade. Then he goes through a three day training regime to get Tensa Zangetsu - which admittingly was temporarily self-destructive because he couldn't handle the stress it put on him." She raises a finger. "But all that aside…"

"You don't think he earned them." Alex watched Miko nod her head.

"Especially his Bankai, it takes - what - a hundred years to properly learn to do that and he just learned to use it in three days? I feel he was just handed it because of plot armor and it proved a point; Ichigo got things really fast and it allowed him to go toe-to-toe with Byakuya. Still I felt it was lazy writing." Miko paused before fingering her drink. "Course that's just me. I don't like the idea of writing where the super cool weapon is just handed something, I like it when they feel earned." Miko paused.

"I can respect with that." Alex muttered in thought. "I have no problem with OP protagonists but I like a character that has work for what they get."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Miko finished her drink, staring off into space as Alex did the same. When her phone went off Alex just glanced at her, watching her stare at the phone for a moment before bringing it to her ear.

"Hello?" He couldn't exactly hear what was being said on the other line. "Yeah? Oh… ok yeah I'll be right there." Miko muttered as she hung up.

"Heading out?"

"Rai needs my help with something."

"Match or girl stuff." Miko just shrugged.

"Not sure honestly." She admitted getting to her feet. "But she wants me to come meet her somewhere."

"Well I'll see you when you get back." Alex stated turning back to his laptop before trying to figure out what to write.

"You wanna tag along?" Miko asked, putting a hand on her hip. "Give us more time to talk." Alex just stared at Miko for a moment before turning his gaze skyward.

"Well… you did say you wanted to be real with me about something." Alex muttered before closing his laptop before getting to his feet. "Should I bring Rupture?"

"If you want, personally I'm bringing Rose Wing." Miko stated as she turned toward the hall. "I'll tell our parents we're going back out to see Rai." Alex just nodded as she disappeared, moment she did he took a moment to release a yawn he hadn't realized he'd been holding in and stretched before heading upstairs to put his laptop away. "This…" He began. "Is going to be a long day."


	11. Chapter 10: Mrs Yamoshin

Alex yawned as he stepped down the streets, Miko just taking a minute to stare at her adoptive brother and poked his cheek. "You know you can always head back right?" She asked as he stretched.

"I know."

"And yer your still coming with me."

"Yep." Alex looked at Miko. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Do what you want." Miko stated as she put her hands behind her head. "I'm not stopping you from tagging along and I'm not stopping you from turning back."

"I'm grateful for that." Alex stated as the two waited for a light to change. "So what was that thing you wanted to talk about anyway?"

"Later." Alex raised an eyebrow as he looked at Miko, her attention drifting from the street to a few of the houses. "I don't want to talk about now.

"You know I could be working with a short attention span, right? I mean, this "thing" you wanted to talk about might drift to the farthest reaches of my mind."

"I know." Miko stated. I just down want to talk about it now." She looked at Alex. "I don't want to accidentally ruin this day. Alex watched her step into the street before openly shrugging and following after her. "I swear I don't get women."

Walking in silence Miko kept looking about as Alex crossed his arms.

"So." Alex muttered. "Where exactly does Rai live?"

"Jinjiro district."

"I have no idea where that is."

"Just follow me." Miko stated. "It shouldn't take us too long to get there." She told him. "So~" She started up after a while. "Tell me about yourself." Alex glanced at Miko and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, might as well figure out who's staying at my place right."

"Guess you got me there." Alex muttered. "So what do you want to know?"

"What are you willing to share?" Alex shrugged and seemed to think.

"… Guava."

"Hm?"

"I like guava fruit."

"Ah." Miko nodded her head. "I hear the leaves are good for herbal tea." Alex nodded his head.

"What about you?"

"I like mango." Alex tilted his head from side to side before nodding.

"That's not a bad choice. I mean I can't stand it sometimes but yeah its pretty tasty." The boy admitted.

"You don't like mango?"

"It's not that I _don't_ like it." Alex countered. "I just get these stringy parts in my teeth when I bite into it, I don't know maybe I'm biting into it wrong."

"I see." The two fell into a relative silence as they moved on. "So, what do you like."

"Wanna be specific or should I give you a general list that ranges from food to music, or sex?"

"I would rather not learn about your sexual exploits." Miko grumbled in a bit of discomfort.

"Good cause I don't have any… unless you count hentai."

"Oh _Kami_…"

"Relax I'm fucking with you." Alex paused. "More or less."

"Good to know…" Miko grumbled. "Do me a favor and don't shake it while you're here. I live right across the hall from you."

"Please, it's bad manners to do it in someone else's house."

"Look out this is a boy with manners." Alex stared at the girl.

"Your sarcasm is much appreciated." Alex grumbled in annoyance. "But I'm serious. Do _you_ get off at your friends' house?"

"No." Miko relented as she started to drift away. "Anyway wanna switch topics now or-?"

"Please." Alex waved her off. "What do you wanna know?"

"How long have you been a battler."

"Bout 9 years."

"And you're~ my age right?"

"Right." Alex admitted. "17. I'll be 18 in a few months."

"Same." Both looked at each other.

"October." Was Miko's response.

"September." Was Alex's response. "Though I like celebrating it in December."

"Why?"

"I was born early." Alex admitted. Miko paused as she did the small bit of math.

"You were… 3 months early."

"Yeah~" Alex shrugged. "Had some issues because of it, but what can you do about it?" Both fell silent as they pressed on.

"So~" Miko muttered. "You were born early… but you celebrate your birthday later than I do…" Alex didn't say a word. "So~ should I consider you older than me or~"

"If you want." Alex raised a hand and dropped it on top of Miko's head. "Considering you're shorter than me, that works." Miko elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow, I think you almost hurt my feelings with that one."

"_Teme_." She grumbled, before smiling. "Still I have no intention of calling you _Onii-chan_. I've seen enough_ non_-hentai to know there that leads."

"Relax I'm not into that… I think." Alex paused as he looked at Miko. "Call me that real quick see if it works?"

"Request denied."

* * *

_Yamoshin Household_

Rai's home was… average. Why was Alex surprised about that?

"Oh right, too much anime." Alex muttered as Miko hit the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.

_"Hello?"_

"Yamoshin-san its Miko." The girl responded. "Rai wanted to see me?"

_"Hai, hai. Come on in dear."_

The door opened a moment later, revealing an older looking woman with charcoal colored hair stepping out. "It's good to see you Miko-chan…?" She paused as she looked at Alex. "Who might this be?"

"This is Alex… he's my new brother." Miko seemed to struggle finding the word as Alex bowed.

"_Ohayo._" Alex wasn't sure if he sounded bored or tired as he bowed. "I'm Alex, Miko's mom married my father a few months ago."

"Ah yes, I was there for the ceremony. Such a lovely day for both of them." Mrs. Yamoshin stated as she looked at Alex. "You certainly have your father's looks." She paused. "Not his face though."

"Got my moms." Alex remarked.

"Well, come on in you two." Mrs. Yamoshin invited the pair inside as they removed their shoes. "Rai! Miko and her brother are here!"

"Hai! Be right down." Alex just yawned as Miko nudged him.

"You can always head back, sleepy head."

"I know but I'm already here, so~" Alex waved a hand in a so-so manner.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Rai stated as she stepped down the stairs, wearing nothing but a pair of sporty short-shorts and a tight t-shirt. "Thanks for making it on such short notice Miko." Alex did hear a freaking word as he watched her chest bounce.

_'Damn… so that's why she wears a hoodie, and those legs… those things go for-_

"Wake up _baka_." Miko muttered as she patted his cheek. "Stop eyeing my friend." Ms. Yamoshin just giggled as Rai rolled her eyes.

"Hey Alex, how's it going?"

"Pretty good." Alex made certain his attention focused on her eyes. It was that or risk either getting his ass kicked by three women or getting thrown out the house. "You have fun at the mall?"

"Definitely." She stated putting a hand on her hip. "Thanks for carrying the bags for a while."

"Don't mention it." Alex muttered as Rai stared for a moment longer before smirking.

"You pass."

"Pass what?"

"I'll tell you later." Rai stated as she looked over to Miko. "Now, I called you here so, i might as well show you why." Rai stated as she started walking back upstairs with Miko following right after her. "Alex, mind giving us a minute?"

"Your house your rules." Alex stated as he glanced elsewhere before sneaking one last peak at Rai's body. 'Shakira was joking; them hips don't lie.' Mrs. Yamoshin coughed as she got Alex's attention. "… sorry."

"Don't be, you're a healthy, young man Alex." The woman stated as she headed for the living room. "Those two will be up for a bit, in the meantime please relax a bit." She paused looking at the teen for a minute. "You look exhausted."

"I am, and thank you." Alex stated as he walked over to the living room and set himself down. "If you don't mind asking, what are those two doing anyway?"

"That's a secret I'm afraid." Mrs. Yamoshin stated as she ran a hand across her bookshelf before rubbing her fingers. "It's not my place to say."

"Aw, one of those things huh." Alex muttered as he got comfortable before staring at Mrs. Yamoshin. She really did look like an older copy of her daughter. Hair was longer though. 'Still if she's anything to go by and given her daughters "development" then…' Alex shook his head as he started to yawn, using it to mask the thought that was going through his head. "I really should have stayed back to get some sleep…"

"Tired after a long day?"

"Long night followed by a long day." Alex stated as he put his hands in his lap. "Jetlag but couldn't sleep, followed by a day at the mall and then coming here…" Mrs. Yamoshin shook her head.

"No wonder you're tired. Alex-san." She headed towards the kitchen for a moment before stopping. "I'll make you some tea, it should help you relax.

"_Arigato_." Alex responded as he looked at the woman disappear before taking a breath. "I'm just gonna close my eyes for a minute… won't do any harm…"

…

…

…

"Alex-san… Alex-san." Alex opened his eyes as he found Rai's mother shaking him. A concerned look on her face as she did. "Oh good you're back. I'm sorry I took so long with the tea."

"Don't be." Alex muttered before rubbing his eyes. "How long was I out?"

"About ten minutes." She stated as she gestured to the japanese kettle she had set on the table as well as the two cups. "Tea's still warm if you still want some."

"Thank you." Alex stated as Mrs. Yamoshin poured them both a cup. Alex took his first, smelling jasmine emanating from it as he sighed in relief. "It still smells delicious." He whispered before taking a sip as the older woman stared. "What?"

"So, Alex-san, tell me about yourself."

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, how old are you?"

"17. I'll be 18 in a few months."

"Really, Rai just turned 17 a week ago."

"Oh really?" Alex muttered as he raised his head in thought. "I should get her something then, shouldn't I?"

"If you'd like, though I'm sure she'd appreciate the gesture. Especially if it came from an attractive young man like yourself."

"I wouldn't say attractive." Alex smiled lightly as they both returned to their tea. "But thank you for the confidence boost."

"Don't mention it." The woman stated as she seemed to make herself comfortable. "So, if you don't mind me asking where have you been?" She asked. "I didn't see you at your parents wedding months ago."

"I was in New York with my mom." Alex stated. "I only come here every six months."

"I see, that must be tough for you." Alex shrugged.

"You get used to it after a while." Alex took another drink. "I certainly did."

"Still, stability is crucial for a growing child. Moving from one place to the next…"

"As I said you get used to it, just takes a while to adjust." Mrs. Yamoshin made a noise as she returned to her drink.

"So, what do you do in your spare time, Alex-san?"

"Nothing to out there, I write, play video games, watch tv, GP Duel when I have an opponent, and on occasion work out and I sing on rare occasions." Alex shrugged. "You know nothing to amazing."

"You don't hang out with friends?"

"I _did_." Alex paused as he seemed to drift away. "Just… when I get back that will be impossible."

"Why, did you have an argument?"

"Less an argument and more a dispute in…" Alex went looking for the word. "Life goals. They're going somewhere, I'm going somewhere else."

"They're moving away." The woman muttered as Alex nodded. "Are they at least happy in going away?"

"Honestly I can't say. They were excited, and they really wanted me to go with them but…"

"Oh. So it wasn't that they moved away, they went on a trip."

"I guess you could say that." Alex admitted. "Though at the same time… they did leave, and the chance of me seeing them again are pretty slim."

"Won't they be back in New York when you return?"

"No." Alex sighed, fingering the edge of his cup. "They're going around the world." He confessed. "I don't know when, or if I'll ever see them again."

"I think I understand." The woman muttered. "But if they wanted you to come, why didn't you go with them? Did your mom not approve?" Alex actually chuckled at that.

"Oh I'm pretty sure she would never _approve_ of me going." He smiled. _'She wants me to finish school after all.'_ His smile slipped. "To be honest I didn't go… because I was scared."

"Of what?"

"The unknown I guess." Alex muttered as he lowered his cup. "I got… comfortable, I got part of a routine, and it guess I didn't want to break it and try something new. I didn't want to go all in and put all my cards on the table."

"Hm…" Mrs. Yamoshin seemed to think on his words for a moment. "I don't really know to respond to that." The woman confessed. "After all, I don't know your whole situation but… lifes about taking chances yes? And every action has a good and bad reaction. "You didn't join your friends, but if you had you wouldn't be here right? You wouldn't have met my daughter and we wouldn't have been able to share this tea."

"Well this is really nice tea." Alex remarked as he took another drink.

"It's a family brew." The woman stated as she drank some herself. "Anyway, you said you sing, yes?"

"On occasion. Though I'm not that good."

"I'd like to be the judge of that." The woman stated as she set her cup down. "Would you sing me something? You can consider it payment for the tea." Alex sighed as he turned skyward.

"Fine…" Alex muttered as he took one last drink from his tea before setting it down. "h"You can not tell anyone I'm doing this." She crossed her heart and raised her head. Alex just took a breath before looking at the stairway. Turning back he pulled out his phone and started playing an instrumental.

_'That sound… a music box?'_

_mitsu me au._

_sono shisen._

_tojita sekai no naka._

Mrs. Yamoshin blinked in surprise as she listened to the lyrics.

_kizukanai furi o shite mo yoi o satora resou_

_yaketsuku kono kokoro kakushite chikazuite._

_toiki kanjireba shibireru hodo._

Alex started to rock his head from side to side as he continued to sing. An act the lady of the house started to follow.

_arifureta koigokoro ni ima wana o shikakete._

_wazuka na sukima ni mo ashiato nokosanaiyo._

_miesuita kotoba dato kimi wa yudan shiteru._

Out of reflex Alex tapped his foot along to the lyrics, as Mrs. Yamoshin took a drink of her tea.

_yoku shitta gekiyaku nara nomihoseru ki ga shita._

_sabitsuku kusari kara nogareru ate mo nai._

_hibiku byoushin ni aragau hodo._

_tatoeba fukai shigemi no naka suberi komasete._

_tsunaida ase no kaori ni tada okasaresou._

_arifureta koigokoro ni ima wana o shikakeru._

_wazuka na sukima nozokeba._

_Tsukamaete._

_tatoeba fukai shigemi no naka suberi komasete._

_tsunaida ase no kaori ni tada okasareteru._

Reaching the end of his Alex took a breath as ended the song on his phone. The lady of the house just clapped as he looked at her and scratched his head.

"That was beautiful." She whispered as he glanced back to be sure the other two ladies in the house weren't eavesdropping. "When I asked you to sing, I wasn't expecting you to sing in Japanese. I was expecting one of your english songs."

"Well I do know english covers too." Alex muttered. "And English songs obviously, but we're in japan, so I figured I'd sing in Japanese."

"I see." The woman stated. "You have a wonderful singing voice… does your parents know you can sing like that?" Alex just gave her a so-so gesture before returning to his tea.

"My mom does, my dad, not so much." He stared off into space as he smiled. "My team and I used to sing a lot in our off time."

"Your team?" Alex just smiled lightly, reminiscing about days with Team Stygian.

"Yeah, when we weren't practicing, we'd take a break and watch old anime. We'd sing along to the lyrics of our favorite shows and sometimes even some J-pop songs we got the lyrics for off the internet." Alex shook his head. "We had a makeshift karaoke thing going on back then." He took another drink. "I'm gonna miss those days." Mrs. Yamoshin stayed silent as she seemed to think.

"You know there are karaoke bar you can visit while you're here."

"I could." Alex admitted. "I don't have anyone to go with though."

"There's Miko-chan, Rai-chan, and we can't forget Hono-chan can we?" The woman of the house stated. "They can go with you."

"Nah~" Alex stated. "Less they know the better."

"Why do you say that?" Alex just smiled slyly as he raised a finger to his lips.

"Its easier to surprise people when they don't know much about your capabilities." That wasn't the only reason, but that was the one he'd let Mrs. Yamoshin get her hands on.

"Well you aren't wrong. But hiding secrets isn't always fun in the end."

"It's not." Alex admitted. "But the less they ask, the less they find out about me."

"Is that why you told me you could sing?" The lady of the house asked with a smile. "Because I asked what you do in your spare time?"

"Hai, otherwise I would have kept my mouth shut."

"Hm." Mrs. Yamoshin leaned back in thought. "So what do those girls know about you so far?"

"They know I'm a Gunpla battler, Miko knows I like Guava and when I celebrate my birthday so far."

"That's not much for them to go by, is it?" The woman pouted. "You should tell them more about yourself."

"In time." Alex stated as he finished his tea. "Thank you for the tea by the way, it was delicious."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for the song." She remarked. "What was that song anyway?"

"Cantarella, a music box version."

"That's… Vocaloid isn't it?" Alex nodded his head. "I thought it sounded familiar." She paused. "What other songs do you know?"

"Eh bit of this, bit of that."

"Would you be willing to share more of your songs with me?"

"Do… Do I have to?"

"If you want to stay in my house today." Alex stayed silent as the woman just smiled. "Than yes."

"For such a beautiful woman you do not play fair." Alex muttered as she gave him a thumbs up. "What do you want to hear?"

"Well you're a battler so… why not a Gundam song?" Alex stayed silent before looking back at the stairway. "They'll be up there for a while, you don't need to worry about getting caught." Alex slowly nodded as he looked back to the lady of the house. "So what would you like to sing?"

Alex seemed to think for a moment. "White Reflection." That made the woman's eyes brighten._ 'Why do I feel like I just passed a test of sorts?'_

"Young man, I think I like you."


	12. Chapter 11: The First Battlefield

"Thanks for the help Miko. See you tomorrow?" Rai asked as she looked at her friend.

"Yeah, catch you later Rai."

"Bye Alex."

"See ya Mrs. Yamoshin, Rai." Alex nodded at the two women as they waved him and Miko off.

"Come back when you have the time ok?!"

"Sure." Miko looked at Alex as he nodded. "I'll be sure not to bring him next time."

"Oh you are a peach, aren't you?" Alex grumbled as he followed Miko down the streets. "So, what were you two doing for three hours?"

"Not telling." Miko stated as she looked at Alex. "Rai will tell you if she feels like it."

"Ah." Alex grumbled something under his breath as he shook his head. "That's another trip." Alex muttered. "So what happens tomorrow?"

"Gunpla." Alex perked up. "There's a tournament at a local shop I know, It's nothing major but it helps me test my skills."

"Aiming for something big?" Alex asked.

"School tournaments, the bigger ones at the Gundam Base." She paused. "Oh and of course Nationals." Alex flinched slightly, but Miko failed to notice.

"You're going to the Nationals?"

"Well, not anytime soon, but it's a plan for later." Miko said with a smile. "Anyway that GP Duel you helped us with last night, my friends and I set a goal that if we won that then we'd try for the tournament tomorrow."

"So that's it." Alex muttered. "I ended up helping you with that without realizing it."

"Your not wrong." Miko smirked as she nudged him. "Anyway I want to get strong enough to make it to the Nationals, that way I can meet and face off with _them_."

"Them?"

"Who else, Meijin Kawaguchi and the Summertime King." Alex coughed, trying his hardest not to smile. "What?" Miko narrowed her eyes as she looked at her counterpart.

"You…" He continued to cough. "You want to fight those two? Meijin Kawaguchi the 11th and the Summertime King?"

"You think I can't beat them."

"Not at your level." Alex admitted without shame. "The "bloodline of the Meijin" is not one that can be challenged, let alone toppled by just anyone. " He stated. "I'll be honest I saw the vids concerning the 3rd Meijin's loss 9 years ago, and I don't think he "really" lost that fight."

"What makes you think that?"

"The way he fought." Alex stated. "From start to finish I saw him throughout that tournament, and I saw how he went into battle, like he had something to prove not just to the world but to himself. And at the last match with Dark Matter. It was like he threw everything aside just to win." Alex stated. "That wasn't him fighting, that was someone else."

"You think they subbed him out last minute with a look alike." Alex rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. No self respecting Battler just casts aside their way of fighting like that at the last minute. Maybe something got to him, maybe something happened before the last match. I don't know, but whoever was fighting then, that _wasn't_ Meijin Kawaguchi. He wasn't the one who lost, not really." Shaking his head Alex crossed his arms. "And disregarding him, that line consists of Japan's best of the best, you're skill can't reach them yet."

"Wow~ your faith in my piloting skills is noted." Miko stated as she started walking ahead of him.

"Hey I said yet. You still got time to polish your skills, and when you face the Meijin, you may be able to offer some bit of a challenge." Miko just looked at her counterpart.

"Well what about you? Think you can handle the Meijin?"

"Maybe." Alex stated as Miko just stared at him. "If push comes to shove, I'll have to find out."

"You think you can handle Meijin Kawaguchi but I can't."

"I said maybe." Alex grumbled. "I also said you would have to polish your skills before getting to their level." Miko rolled her eyes."I'm just not overestimating your skills or mine. If we get to that level, then we'll be at that level, if not~" Alex shrugged. "Then that's on us."

Miko took a breath, rubbed her temples and shook her head. "Whatever. Fine, I'll prove to you I can reach their level."

"We'll see. After all the Meijin's a monster, the Summertime King… well I wouldn't call him a monster per say."

"Thata favoritism thing?"

"No~" Alex grumbled. "Maybe." He corrected himself. "I mean sure the Kaizer is good, but he's never gone to the Nationals. We just have reports of him doing, what, summer based championships? I'm not even sure his skills are close to National level."

"You're wrong." Miko stated as Alex just looked at her counterpart as they kept walking. "You've reviewed the Meijin's fights, I've reviewed the Kaizer's." Miko stated. "He's definitely on the National level."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You can tell with his level of craftsmanship in building his Gunpla." Miko muttered. "Not just that, but you can tell in how he fights. There's no denying he's on the National level - the Meijin's even."

"Why do I get the feeling you have a crush on this guy?"

"I don't have a crush on him." Miko stated, jabbing a finger into her counterparts chest. "I just respect him, like I respect all Battlers of that caliber. Able to build at that skill level, able to battle and laugh when it's all over regardless of the outcome, and striving to improve with every battle. That's what a Battler should aim towards." The passion in her voice actually caught Alex off guard. "Sure he's never gone to the Nationals, but he will one day. And when he does, I'll be there, and I'll see just how I fare against him."

_'This girl…'_ Alex scratched his head. "You really look up to him, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Miko stated.

"You sure it's not just a crush?"

"It's not a crush." Miko grumbled as she looked at her counterpart. "You don't know what he does, do you?"

"I know he never shows his face to the public."

"Every tournament he's won, he's actually used his part of the tournament earnings to help those that flopped out of the pro circuits so they can stay afloat. So they could go back to school and find actual jobs."

"Really?" Alex either wasn't overly surprised or seemingly interested. "But summer tournaments don't pay that much you know, not compared to the nationals anyway. He'd need a lot more dough to help all the people that didn't make it."

"You're not wrong." Miko agreed. "But he tries, that's all that matters." Miko stared up at the teen. "That's all anyone can ask for." Alex stayed silent as he stared down at his counterpart before smiling.

"This girl…" Alex muttered as he raised a hand to pat her head. "You're right, all you can ask for is to do your best." He stepped past her as she watched him move on. "Come on, it's getting late, we need to get back." Miko just stared at him as she followed after.

It seemed she'd won this argument.

"By the way." Alex stopped as he looked back at Miko. "That thing you wanted to talk about, what was it?" Miko just blinked as she looked at her counterpart and turned elsewhere. "Come on, we got a street to ourselves, our parents aren't anywhere nearby. It's just you and me." Alex admitted. "What was it?"

"… this." Miko said after a while.

"Hm?"

"I'm not… comfortable with this, ok?" Miko rubbed her arm as she repeated the words.

"Well I guess if you're not ready to talk about it then I guess I won't push but—"

"No, not that." Miko grumbled. "I'm not comfortable… with this, all of this ok?" She gestured to nothing. "Your dad, the marriage. You. I'm not comfortable with it."

"Oh…"

"Your dad he's… ok, a little awkward, but he's not a bad guy and yet… I just." She paused. "I'm not really all for this marriage our parents are in." She took an annoyed breath. "It's weird. I know it isn't sudden or anything but—"

"I get it." Alex cut in scratching his head. "This marriage… I'm not really for it too." Alex grumbled. "Then again, unlike you, this caught me totally out of left field." Alex admitted. "I came here to Japan thinking my dad was still single, I didn't think he'd finally took that step again."

"Yeah." Miko stated as the two fell silent. "You, you don't seem like a terrible guy either, you know."

"You're not so bad yourself preistess." Alex remarked causing Miko to smirk slightly. It disappeared a moment later.

"I just…" Miko scratched her head. "I can't just see you and "_oh hey I have a new brother now, that's coo_l." I don't know how to deal with you ok, not yet."

"Me neither." Alex stated as he walked up to Miko. "It's gonna take some time for both of us to adjust to this new siituation."

"Yeah…" Miko looked up. "But I mean… I am really uncomfortable with this. I… I'd rather this marriage never happened, you know." She took a breath. "But…" She muttered. "You dad, he makes my mom happy. So… I'm willing to put my personal feelings aside so she can have that happiness." Alex slowly smiled as he nodded his head.

"I understand." Alex began. "My dad and I don't really hang out much… but even I can tell your mom makes him happy too." He paused. "Thats…" He went searching for the words. "Enough I guess? He paused awkwardly. "For their sake… I'll try and not get in the way of it." Miko slowly returned the smile as she nodded.

"So…" Miko awkwardly tapped her knuckle against Alex's chest. "We're on the same page, that's good."

"That's great."

"It's awesome." Miko looked elsewhere. "What do we do now? Should we just move on from this? Start over?"

"Well we didn't really greet each other when we met yesterday."

"Right~" Miko scratched her cheek before holding out her hand. "My name is Ras- well now it Leongard isn't it?, Leongard Miko. I'm your new stepsister."

"I'm Alex Leongard, your new stepbrother." Alex shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Miko stated before they broke apart. "So, shall we head back?"

"After you." Alex gestured towards the street as Miko moved past him.

Now that the air was clear, it was time to head home.

* * *

_Next Day_

_Leongard Residence_

"Miko, Alex it's time to wake up?! Alex grunted in annoyance as he heard the door to his room start to open. "Alex~ Alex it's morning!" Anya stated as she looked at her stepson. Her reward was a pillow being thrown at her.

"Go away? I'm sleeping."

"No can do." Anya stated as she crouched down and poked her stepson in the cheek. "It's morning and we have plans today."

"Ugh~" Alex peeked at the woman and seemed to glare at her. "What plans?"

"We have a gunpla tournament to get to today." Alex stayed silent as he felt the woman poke him again.

"What tournament?" Alex paused as he sat up. "Oh right, Miko said something about that yesterday." Alex rubbed his eyes before looking at Anya. "Give me a second will you?"

"_Hai_." Anya stated as she stepped out and let Alex stare off into space before stretching.

"Tourney today…" Alex muttered before yawning and leaned back in bed. "Should I just watch or take part though?" Alex asked as he looked at Rupture sitting on his table. "What do you think?" Alex wasn't given a response. "Yeah I figured you'd say that." He stated before pulling himself from bed and got to his feet. "Lets ask the "other guy" in the room." He mused before walking up to his full body mirror and set himself down before it before staring at his reflection. "What do you think?"

_"I think you should go. After all, it'll be good to see how the competition stacks up."_

"Is that the only reason you want to go?"

_"No. But we did promise Amalea this wasn't the end for us, and we keep our word don't we?"_

Alex scratched his cheek, and his reflexion did the same. "Well you're not wrong."

_"Besides, it's what we love doing, you want to skip out on what we enjoy?"_

"No not really." Alex muttered. "But I really don't want to get caught, you know."

_"You mean about our battle style."_

"It's one thing fighting left handed." Alex raised the hand. "Not many can do that, but it's something you can learn." He let his hand rest on his chin. "But your personal playstyle, it's like your signature. It's not exactly something you can change on a whim ya know, and most don't want to change it. Not only that, those that have, have mostly failed to change it."

_"That's true, and our signature is pretty easy to recognize."_

"I'd rather not get caught in this situation… so, what should we do?"

_"We change our signature, put a seal on it for a while."_

"Ugh~" Alex grumbled. "I just said that's not gonna be easy."

_"It will if you use your right hand instead."_

Alex actually looked at his off hand and made a noise. "Oh yeah, I still got this thing." He flexed the fingers.

"Unlike other players you have two play styles, Your right is your more "casual battler" style, and your left…"

"That'll be you." Alex muttered. "Three time United States Summertime Champion; Afterlife Kaizer." Alex made gestures with his hands. "That's the case, you won't be out for a while, will you."

_"That's fine. I don't need to be out for a while anyway."_

"You cool with being sealed like this?"

_"Of course. Besides, it's not forever; you'll call me out when you need me."_

"Yeah I guess you're right." Alex fell silent before seeming to think before getting to his feet. "Good talk, enjoy your rest then." Alex smirked at his reflection as both raised their fingers and made a shushing gesture before parting ways. Alex just took a minute to gather up his clothes for the day and headed to the restroom before starting to think back. "Even if it's just a small local one, it'll have been awhile since I went to a tourney without my team with me." Alex muttered. "Lets see what happens." He stopped at the bathroom door as he made to open the door, stopped and knocked. "I do not want a repeat of yesterday."

* * *

_Seijun Gunpla Shop_

Alex wasn't going to lie; up until about 30 minutes ago, he didn't even know this store existed. It wasn't overly big and it was relatively out of sight, settled off to the side of one of Tokyo's main shopping districts.

Taking the store in, Alex just scratched his head, and took a breath. "This is a really nice store, nice and spacious too." He muttered. "How come I never heard of this place?"

"You probably just don't bother looking for it." Miko stated as she stared at everyone gathered. "Still, I wasn't expecting so many people here."

"Getting cold feet?"

"Not on your life." Miko stated as she looked at Alex who smirked at her. "Come on, lets go get signed up."

"Right, right, I'll be right behind you." Alex grumbled as he started following after her. Richard just looked at the sight as he smiled slightly.

"Is it just me or do they seem… easier around each other when compared to yesterday?"

"I think they cleared the air a bit." Anya stated as she looked at the sight in approval. "Whatever was bothering them was put on the table."

"That's good to hear." Richard muttered. "This tournament should help bring them a bit closer to right?"

"Hai." Anya stated. "Also it'll give them a chance to see the other's skills." She nodded her head as she seemed to think. "That way they know where the other stands and where they might be able to help the other improve."

"I see." Richard muttered as he crossed his arms and leaned back against a wall. "Lets hope for the best then."

"Miko!" Rai called out as both step-siblings turned to one another. "Glad you were able to make it."

"Same." Miko smiled as she looked at her friend as Alex looked her over.

"Still rocking that hoodie I see." Rai just smirked.

"Hoping I'd wear something else?" She paused. "Maybe a little less?"

"I never said that." Alex remarked with a smile. "But I wouldn't complain."

"I bet you wouldn't." Rai stepped forward pulling a hand from her pocket as she brought a finger to Alex's chin. "But you wouldn't want to fail now would you?"

"I don't know what I'd be failing at, Rai." Alex crossed his arms. "Care to tell me how this pass and fail thing works with you." Miko physically got between the two and pushed them apart.

"**No**." She stated simply. "Honestly." She shakes her head. First Rai asks if Alex is single,then Alex asks if Rai is single, then he all but eye humps her at her house and now… Miko took a breath as she jabbed her finger into Rai's cheek. "Bestie." She lowered the finger and did the same to Alex. "New brother." She stated firmly. "No."

Rai stuck her tongue out. "I'm just talking to him."

"You two are five steps away from flirting." Miko grumbled. "No, just no. It's gonna get weird and gross." Rai just shrugged before seeming to smile.

"So you find out who's older?"

"Technically~"

"So, will he be calling you _Onee-chan_, or will you be calling him _Onii-chan_?"

"We agreed that I'm the _Oniichan_." Alex stated.

"We did not." Miko grumbled as she shot Alex a glare. "And you need to shut up." Rai just chuckled as she stared at the two.

"So, you both ready for this?" Rai asked Miko nodded and Alex shrugged, flexing his right hand.

"Yeah."

"Well see." Alex stated as he lowered the hand. "I'll admit I'm curious as to how the other are gonna match up."

"You sound either not confident or not interested." Rai remarked.

"I sound that way when I'm still tired." Alex remarked. "So, how we doing this anyway?"

"One-on-one tournament bracket." Rai stated as she held up a pamphlet.

"So only one winner huh?" Alex muttered as he took the pamphlet and started looking through it. "So we're not pulling teams?" He looked at Miko. "Pity."

"You're not going to be upset when I beat you then will you?"

"I don't intend on losing, so I should be asking you that." Miko just crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Well your confident at least." Rai stated as she hit him in the elbow. "In that case I'll be waiting for you on the battlefield."

"If you make it to face me on the battlefield, I'll gladly take you on." Alex stated with a mock bow.

"It's a date then." Miko groaned as she put a hand on her face.

"_Maji ka_…" She paused before looking around. "By the way, where's Hono-chan and Taka-kun?"

"Hono-chan's at home." Rai stated as she scratched her head. "She over trained again and… broke her gunpla… again."

"Oh…" Miko grumbled as she sighed. "That girl, always overdoing it… what about Taka-kun?"

"Right here." A young man stated as he walked up to the three. Taka looked… actually he didn't look that bad. He wasn't the hottest guy around but he looked pretty good. Brown hair with blue eyes framed by glasses. "Glad you could make Miko-chan."

"Taka-kun." Miko stated with a gentle smile. "You miss our last fight." The teen just scratched his head.

"Sorry, something came up." Taka stated as he looked at Alex. "Who's your friend?"

"Alex Leongard." Alex clarified.

"Seiken Takayasha; _O-me ni kakarete ureshī desu_." The boy shook his hand. "Rai called and told me you subbed in for the match against _Reddokurōbā_ a few days ago." Taka bowed in respect. "Arigato."

"No worries. I got to work with this one." Alex dropped a hand on Miko's head only for her to push it off. "Got to see her skills first hand."

"He has great faith in my piloting skills." Miko rolled her eyes.

"You have time to refine them."

"You said that last night too." Miko grumbled before turning to Taka. "So, when will this tournament start?"

"In a few minutes." Taka gestured to the sign-in booth. "When we got in there was only a few slot left to filll so, as soon as the last person gets in, everything will be underway."

"Well in that case." Alex muttered as he stepped away. "I'ma find a place to sit before we get started. I'll let you -" Before he could blink Taka grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back a bit.

"Hm?"

"Please don't leave me with them." Alex blinked as he looked at the two girls who were busy talking.

"… don't wanna be outnumbered?"

"Not a chance." Alex sighed before looking to the girls again.

"Ladies." Alex called out. "I'm borrowing this one for a bit ok?"

"Hai." Miko shrugged as Rai smirked. "Just be sure to bring him back in one piece will you." Alex just shrugged as he and Taka started going off.

"_Arigato_."

Don't sweat it, I know what t's like being outnumbered by girls." Alex stated as he and Take started looking for a spot to sit at. "I know it's not fun."

"Most think it a blessing." Taka got a look from Alex. "It's not."

"I hear ya." The two fell into a comfortable silence. "So, tell me about yourself Taka."

"Theres not much to tell." Taka gave an apologetic look. "I'm just your everyday guy. Watch tv, work on gunpla, go to school…"

"You go to Seiho right?" Taka nodded.

"You're starting there next week I take it." Alex nodded his head. "I look forward to having you with us."

"Yeah well." Alex paused. "I'm not sure how well I'll fit in there but I'll give it a whirl."

"That's all we can ask." Taka paused. "Oh right, will you be joining the Gunpla Club when you get in?" Alex seemed to fall silent for a moment, as he started to think back to his New York school club.

He thought back to his time with Stygian.

He thought back to the good times.

He thought back to leaving it and his team behind.

He thought back to letting Rozen go.

"I probably will but…" He said quietly. "Let me think on it, ok?" Taka just nodded in respect before turning elsewhere. Only for what sounded like the opening to the original Mobile Suit Gundam start playing. "Hm?"

"I guess the last person signed in." Taka muttered as he looked ahead.

"Everyone, welcome to the Seijun Gunpla Store!"

Alex turned, his attention heading to see a woman dressed in a Universal Century Earth Federation uniform as she continued to speak.

"Today is the long awaited G-Tournament, sponsored by Yajima Trading!"

"Come on the participants seats are over here." Alex nodded as Taka led him off.

"Today's tournament will be conducted in a standard Singles-Elimination knockout bracket. 20 participants will be battling it out in single combat in order for the chance to win their very own custom Gunpla parts produced by the famed Gunpla builder Lailah Kotomori herself."

Finding a good seat Alex just found himself looking at the four part GP Battle System where the tournament would take place. "I wonder who's going to start us out." Taka muttered as he looked ahead.

"Just gonna have to find out." Alex stated as he looked to see the other participants walking up to them and found their own seats. Miko and Rai crowded around the two taking a seat next to each of them.

"Rei-chan! Miko-chan! Alex-kun! Taka-kun, good luck!" Anya and Mrs Yamoshin waved from their part in the stands.

"Arigato!" Rei waved at her mother as Miko covered her face in embarrassment. Alex jut lazily waved as he kept his gaze focused on the electronic board that would display who's face as it started creating a bracket. "Lets see what happens."

"To everyone participating, good luck and remember to give it your all!"

"First Match Kagurazaka Chihaya vs Ramnaru Shura!"

A boy and a girl stepped out as Alex just looked them over. Shura, the boy was a little taller than he was, with dyed red hair and wearing a Tokyo Ghoul T-shirt. Chihaya on the other hand was actually around his size. Her charcoal colored hair was braided and she seemed to be taking her glasses off. "Interesting." Alex got looks from each of the others as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"What, you know those two?"

"Nope." Alex admitted as he watched the two get ready. "But I will after this match." Rai looked at Miko, who just shrugged.

**"Please set your GP Base."**

"Both battlers did just that.

**"Beginning Plaskey Particle Dispersal."**

The four piece battle field started to light up and take form.

**"Field 7: Ruins"**

**"Please set your Gunpla."**

Both set their Gunpla as Rai raised an eyebrow. "That's a Age Gundam Vagan model, right?"

"Yeah." Miko muttered. "Looks like a Glud with its legs swapped out for Khronos unit. Not only that, it has check out that Back Binder, isn't that a Gomel's Shiguru claw?"

"What about the other one?" Taka muttered as he got a quick glance at the other mobile suit. "Is that a naga?"

"I was gonna say lamia." Whichever you called it, it looked like a red haired Nobel Gundam, attached to Cobra Gundams serpent body of the same hue. "It's a G Gundam Fighter model"Alex noted. "No pot though…" He muttered before looking over to the pilot to try and get a view of them. "What about its loadout?"

"It's carrying the Cobra's pipe." Rai muttered as she leaned forward. "But somethings odd about it."

"Well, lets see what these two can do." Miko stated as Alex seemed to stare ahead.

"Care to make a side bet?" Alex asked.

"A bet?"

"Just for fun." Alex paused. "And maybe lunch." Alex leaned forward a hand on his chin as he focused on the coming match. "You in?"

**"Battle start!"**

"Kagurazaka Chihaya, Lamia Gundam."

"Ramnaru Shura, Guld Asta."

"Launching!"

* * *

**Get your Gundam battle music ready, starting next chapter we are kicking off the Seijun Gunpla Shop tournament, and starting our tournament off is pokemonking0924 own Gunpla Lamia Gundam, and I want to say thank you for letting me introduce your Gunpla and sorry for it taking so long to bring her in.**

**Now, I know this might seemed a bit rushed - Alex and Miko being pulled into a whole local tournament really early, and in Alex's case it kind of is, but as Miko put it, she was aiming for this tournament and winning their previous battle was just the milestone she and the others were waiting for before they decided to try for it. Also its still during the week before classes start, i figure it would make a bit of sense that small local tournaments and such would be present.**

**Also, this is a Gunpla/Gundam story, so I do admittingly need a reason to introduce more battles before this turns from a story about Gunpla to a straight up slice of life one so yeah...**

**I'll try extending these next couple chapters simply to cover this tournament, this is gonna take a lot of work, so I'll be working on it for a while now. and looking up other units to customize for the upcoming battles. Pulling this off may be a bit difficult and it will likely take a while to get everything i want down, but I'll be looking through ways to flesh the chapters out a bit so its not just a pure fight-fight-fight scenario for the next couple rounds. Maybe I can have the participants talk it out for a bit between matches or have something "weird" going on in the background. Either way this will be an interesting piece to pull off.**

**Do stay tuned, I'll get back to you with the first couple rounds as soon as I can.**


	13. Chapter 12:The Serpent Strikes

Regardless of the Gunpla battle projector's size, it was one of the largest of the Gunplas Battlefields, and depending on who you asked, it was either one of the best or the worst around. Like real life canyons, they gave a wide open space for battlers to duke it out, without the worry of collateral damage to the simulated environment. At the same time, that might be one of its faults, like a desert it was an open space, and there wasn't much around to hide behind.

Course, if a battler knows how to use their environment properly, that little fact changes a bit.

Shura's Guld Asta hit the ground with a thud staring to the sun-kissed canyon and looked around, trying to catch sight of the Lamia Gundam he'd been pitted against. He had no such luck in that regard. "Alright where are you?" His unit stepped forward walking through the canyon as he started looking at his radar. "There's nowhere for you to hide out here so…" At the edge of his radar came a blip as he smiled. "There you are." He hit his thrusters, speeding off towards the opposing mobile suit as he smiled. "Ok Glud, let's get this started."

* * *

_Battler's Seats_

"She's not moving." Rai muttered as she leaned back in her seat as she looked at the screens hanging overhead that showed various shots of both pilots. "Is she luring him?"

"Question is why?" Taka muttered. "It's an open space, there's nowhere for her to hide unless she hits the gorge. Plus that's probably the best place for her to set up a trap of some sort."

"Yeah." Miko muttered in agreement. "Maybe… maybe she's planning something." The fingers of the Lamia twitched as something echoed through the speakers. "Hm?" The Lamia seemed to come to life, eyes flashing as it began to move sliding over the canyon as it started approaching the other gunpla. "Is she…"

"Yeah." Alex muttered. "She's whistling."

* * *

_Battlefield_

The Glud Astra caught sight of the Lamia, sensor's saying she was locked as it raised one of its arms and started firing beam vulcans. The Lamia Gundam just kept sliding forward, her tail causing her to naturally weave from side to side as she drew closer, dodging the vulcans as they flew past her. The Glud Asta raised its free hand as it started firing with its other hand to fire. They kept missing as both units drew closer until the Lamia suddenly reared back and stood tall.

Then it moved.

No it lunged forward. Practically jumping across what remained of the distance between the two before nearly colliding with the Guld Asta.

"Wow!" The Asta turned to face her, switching one of it's beam vulcans to function as a sword and swung. The lamia retreated, sliding in a half circle to not only dodge the blade but go behind it. The Glud responded by raising its free arm, extending it to fire vulcans as the Lamaia continued to circle around again. The Glud struck, nearly tripping when something slammed into it's back. "What on… he tail?" The Lamia's rose into the air before slamming downward, the

Glud using it's Shiguru claw to deflect it away before trying to skewer it with a beam saber.

Only to be greeted by a pair of arms grabbed onto his Gunpla's own and held it. "Huh?"

The rest of the Lamia moved, wrapping around the unit as it started to hold it in place."

* * *

_Battler's Seats_

"She's…" Miko began. "She's constricting it."

"I'm no expert on snakes, but they do that to kill prey right?" Alex asked. "Apply pressure to break bones and all that before eating their prey whole?"

"Yeah." Taka muttered. "Holds 'em in place and they keep squeezing till the heart gives out or something." He admitted. "Using that on a Gunpla…"

"She's gonna squeeze until the pressure breaks the unit." Rai muttered. "Talk about putting the squeeze on someone." The teen stated as she heard the plastic starting to bend over the speakers. "How's he gonna counter?"

"Can he counter is the question." Miko remarked. "Let's find out."

* * *

_Battlefield_

The Glud continued struggling plastic turning as the unit started looking back. "I'm not done yet." The Gluds pilot activated the Beam Buster on its chest as part of the tail started to heat up. The Lamia let go in an instant, the beam punching through the sky as it backed up for a moment. The Glud just turned, firing it's hand mounted beam vulcans as it tried getting some distance. The Lamia weaved, seeming to jump/slide from one part of the field to the next before bringing an arm back, generating a beam hula-hoop that it threw at its opponent. The Glud Generated a Beam Saper to bat it away as he flew back, to get some distance. The Lamia gave chase, using her thrusters to close the distance as she threw a second hoop.

Batting it away the Glud prepared a second saber and stabbed it forward as the Lamia weaved, circling around to hit it's opponent with a punch, the Glud caught it twisting the hand as well as it could before a volley of vulcans started ramming into it. It slammed its beam saber forward as the lamia "jumped" using both it's thrusters and its tail to elevate itself over the unit before swinging around, using the unit's own arm to spin it around before attacking it with its tail and pushing it back.

"Oh crap!" Shura used his thrusters to steady himself, then immediately used them to take to the air as a beam hoop nearly slammed into him. He fired another volley of Beam vulcans and the lamia followed with her head mounted vulcans as they both backed away from one another.

It became a shootoff, vulcans flying at each unit only to miss. The Glud charged, it's vulcans becoming beam sabers as the Lamia did the same, her beam hoop being generated and held to be used as a melee weapon. Both weapons met nothing but sparks hitting the air before the Lamia grabbed her Beam Hoop with both hands and turned it.

The hoop spun, rotation causing the opposing beam blades to fly elsewhere as the Lamia pulled back. It lunged through its own hoop, tackling the Glud before firing a short volley of vulcans before leaning back, the hoop still spinning around it's form and threw the Glud over its body, to toss it backwards and into the dirt.

"Screw fast, that mobility is insane." Shura muttered before using his Shiguru claw to get back to his feet, and looked at the Lamia watching it sway from side to side as it kept its hoop spinning around its chest. A few more spins and the hoop had made its way from the unit's torso to its arm before throwing it. "This how a real battler moves?" The Glud's pilot hit a few switches, a beam saber slamming against the airborne weapon before batting it away, just in time to see the Lamia closing in on him. He brought his second arm back before the Shiguru claw moved, opening up before enveloping the arm and locking itself into place.

He swung, even though he missed his target he dug a small trench into the ground as he did before switching to his other hand to start firing vulcans. The Lamia went sideways, dodging the volley as it tried circling around. The Glud followed, suddenly stopping its volley as it switched to it's Beam Buster before sweeping it across the area. The Lamia countered with several spinning hoops of different sizes, forming a makeshift shield as it was pushed back.

"Gotcha now." Shura muttered.

The whistling in the background suddenly changed tempo as the Lamia moved going skyward as the beam tore through it's makeshift shield before finally fizzling out. The lamia formed a new hoop before rearing back to throw it. The Glud just turned, taking aim with it's vulcan hand and charged. The hoop was thrown, only to be crushed by the claw, which opened a second time to grab the Lamia and held it by the torso and started to press down as they were both pulled back towards the soil. The Lamia made a beam hoop, slamming it into the Shiguru claw before turning it, forcing it to spin as it cut into the arm and threatened to take it off and break free.

The Beam Buster started charging again, as familiar light coming from the unit's chest as it did so and the Lamia seemed to jerk, its serpent like body being kicked into the air asit wrapped itself around the arm that held onto it and squeezed as fast and as hard as it could as it could. The result broke the arm into three pieces as the Lamia barely dodged the beam buster, part of it heating up and starting to boil before it weaved around, brought it's hand back as it glowed.

**"Heat…"**

The Hand was thrust at an angle, shoulder to cockpit.

**"End!"**

The beam buster fizzled out all life leaving the mobile suit as it fell limp, the lamia's hand slowly being pulled from the Glud's frame as the battlefield went silent.

**Battle Ended**

**Winner: Lamia Gundam.**

The silence that filled the store was short lived; almost immediately the applause that rang through the building sounded out, everyone showing how much they enjoyed watching the match that took place before them.

"What a spectacular first match everyone! One can only hope that our next couple rounds are just as exciting at this one!"

"Well damn." Miko muttered as she looked to the boys watching them bump fists against one another as they shared a smile. "I guess I owe you lunch."

"You're not the only one." Rai muttered as she glared at the two.

"My stomach thanks you." Alex stated as he crossed his arms and watched the two battlers shake hands.

"That was a pretty good match though." Taka admitted. "Still I was expecting her to use the canyon to her advantage, why didn't she?"

"She didn't need to." Rai stated. "You saw how she fought, she was in control for a good portion of the fight."

"Yeah, she'll be tough to deal with later on." Miko scratched her head. "Still that's what makes this kinda exciting."

Let's give another big hand to our two Battlers Kagurazaka Chihaya and Ramnaru Shura!"

"You got that right." Taka muttered before looking at Kagurazaka-san and watched her head off to do some maintenance on her Gunpla. "Still, wonder why she whistled during the entire fight."

"Well, some people listen to music when they do something like writing or exercise." Alex stated. Helps em get in the right state of mind."

"That's a good point." Miko added. "So whistling probably keeps her in her zone. I wonder how well that works."

"You want to try it?" Rai nudged her friend.

"Maybe some other time." Miko stated as Alex got to his feet and seemed to stretch before wandering off. "Where are you going?"

"We got some time before the next fight, so I'm gonna go wander a bit." Alex stated as he waved with one of his hands. "Be back soon."

* * *

Builder's Lounge

Shura sighed as he looked at his Glud, carefully running his fingers over the damaged parts of his unit before smiling lightly. "You did good out there buddy." He told the ruined suit. "Sorry I couldn't lead you to a win though." He muttered as he glanced over to where Kagurazaka was sitting, watching her pull out her personal supplies to fix up her Lamia Gundam. For obvious reasons, Seijun wouldn't be offering to replace parts using their own supplies. Battlers were expected to bring their own for maintenance and repairs.

Regardless.

"I know I should be proud I got to fight at all, that I got to enjoy myself, but…" The teen muttered. "I really wanted to win…" He mused. "Is that so wrong."

"Not really." A teen admitted as he took a seat next to him. "Everyone wants to win, and no one wants to lose." They admitted. "That's how it is for every battler. So don't think that you're alone in that regard."

"Who are you?" Shura asked as the teen looked at him.

"Alex."

"Shura." They both introduced one another. "So it's normal for people to be upset about losing."

"Bout as normal as people yelling at the tv during football season." Alex stated with a humored smile. "Regardless, you did pretty well out there."

"I don't know about that." Shura stated. "Feels like I screwed up out there."

"If you did, than learn from the screw up, get better." The teen stated. "That's how it goes right."

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Shura stated with a light smile. "Still I feel like I overreached, and this is what I get for it." The teen stared at his damaged gunpla as Alex glanced at it.

"… you're new to this aren't you?" He asked. "At battling I mean."

"Yeah." Shura muttered. "I mean sort of. I practice a lot but… I've never really been in a fight against anyone except the AI-controlled Hi-Mocks."

"Really." Alex muttered. "If you don't mind me asking, why is that?" Shura stayed silent, only opening his mouth for a moment before closing it and shaking his head. "Hey you don't gotta tell me if you don't want to, I'm just some random guy being nosey as all hell." He admitted as Shura just nodded.

"It's ok… it's just, I wasn't expecting anyone to ask."

"You don't ask, you don't learn anything about people." Alex shrugged. "We're not psychics or Newtypes or whatever. We can't expect to learn about people just by staring at them."

"True that."

"So, if you wanna talk I'm all ears until the next match." Shura just nodded his head and started thinking, seemingly wondering if he should tell his counterpart his reasons or not.

"I don't have anyone to play with that's all." The teen stated after a while. "I… believe it or not I have a GP Projector at home. It's kinda old but it works. Anyway I practice with it at home, but no one uses it with me."

"Your family doesn't do Gunpla?" Shura shakes his head. "Ouch."

"That's not the worst situation I guess. I mean I get it all to myself and I use it any time I want. It's just…" Shura paused.

"Lonely."

"Yeah." Shura nodded his head. "I can spend all day practicing and customizing my Gunpla, but… I don't have anyone to test it against, AI's only go so far you know."

"I hear ya." Alex muttered. "But what about coming here?" Alex asked. "There's plenty of people to meet and battle at places like this."

Shura started to find his thumbs a bit more interesting. "Yeah I guess you're right, it's just…" He paused. "I'm not good in places like this."

"Crowds?" Shura nodded slowly. "Hey we all got our issues and problems." Alex muttered. "Some of us deal with them,some of us don't."

"How do you deal with yours?"

"I don't." Alex admitted without shame. "I have issues that I refuse to deal with and likely others I refuse to acknowledge." Shura just stared as the teen in silence before starting to snicker and slowly began to laugh. Alex joined him not long after.

"How that's… that's…"

"Yeah." Alex stated with a smirk. "But hey that's me. You, you're out here trying to deal with em. So more power to ya."

"Thanks." Shura stated before looking to his Gunpla. "Still, I'm not sure what to do now. My first real battle and I lose."

"Well, let me ask you this." Alex began. "Do you love Gunpla?"

"Of course I do."

"Then recover and get back out there." Alex stated. "_Nana korobi, ya oki_." Alex looked at the damaged gunpla. "You can come back up from this, and when you do, you'll be stronger than before."

Attention all Battlers. We will be resuming the next round of the tournament in five minutes. Again the tournament will resume in five minutes."

"Well, guess that's my que to head up front." Alex stated as he got to his feet and started heading off. Stopping only when he turned to look at Shura. "You gonna stick around."

"Yeah."

"Great. I'll see you later." Alex stated as he started walking off again. "And remember that old proverb; _Nana korobi, ya oki_."

Shura smiled as he watched his counterpart disappear.

"Hai." He looked to his damaged unit. "Fall down seven times, stand up eight." The teen muttered. "What do you say we get back up then?"

* * *

**Hey everyone ****Zeroraid here, just adding a little note to the end of this chapter.**

**I went back and did a little bit reediting of this story, it's nothing major that you'd have to go back and read just a fewspelling errors I managed to catch notice of and managed to fix. I don't have an editor or a beta reader or anyone to proof-read stuff like that (Not even sure how that stuff works anyway) so any mistakes I make tends to go unnoticed until I look over it maybe three maybe four times. If anyone notices any mistakes or typos I made and would be willing to bring them up to my attention that would be very much appreciated.**

**Also, I'm still trying to come up with new Gunpla to introduce into the story even if its just for a one-shot battle or something longterm, and if anyone would be interested in offering a hand I'd appreciate the help. So if you want your own gunpla ideas introduced into the story just message me either publicly or privately and I'll gladly introduce them into the story. **

**To do that though, again just need a description and armaments to work with, but if you want to go the extra mile and have me insert not just the Gunpla but a builder/pilot into the story just know my door's open.**

**For now though, this is Zeroraid, signing off.**

**Catch you later, Meisters.**


End file.
